JAMES   A.   GARFIELD, 

AT   THE   AGE   OF   16. 
Copied  by  permission  of  J.  F.  RYDER,  Cleveland ',  O. 


FROM 


CANAL  BOY  TO  PRESIDENT, 


OR  THE 


BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD 


OF 


JAMES    A.    GARFIELD. 


BY 

HORATIO   ALGER,   JR., 

AUTHOR  OF  RAGGED  DICK  ;  LUCK  AND  PLUCK  ;  TATTERED  TOM,  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED. 


NEW  YORK : 

JOHN   R.   ANDERSON   &   COMPANY, 
No.  17  MURRAY  STREET. 

1881. 


COPYRIGHT,   1881,   BY 
JOHN    R.   ANDERSON    &    CO. 


EDWARD  O.  JENKINS, 

PRINTER  AND  STEREOTYPER, 

20  Nortk  William  Street,  New  York. 


TO 
HARRY    AND    JAMES    GARFIELD, 

WHOSE  PRIVATE   SORROW 
IS    THE    PUBLIC    GRIEF, 
THIS  MEMORIAL   OF   THEIR   ILLUSTRIOUS   FATHER 

3s  mscrifielr 

WITH   THE   WARMEST   SYMPATHY. 


PEEFACE. 


IF  I  am  asked  why  I  add  one  to  the  numerous 
Lives  of  our  dead  President,  I  answer,  in  the  words 
of  Hon.  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  because  "  our  annals 
afford  no  such  incentive  to  youth  as  does  his  life, 
and  it  will  become  one  of  the  Republic's  household 
stories." 

I  have  conceived,  therefore,  that  a  biography, 
written  with  a  view  to  interest  young  people  in 
the  facts  of  his  great  career,  would  be  a  praise 
worthy  undertaking.  The  biography  of  General 
Garh'eld,  however  imperfectly  executed,  can  not 
but  be  profitable  to  the  reader.  In  this  story, 
which  I  have  made  as  attractive  as  I  am  able,  I 
make  no  claim  to  originality.  I  have  made  free 
^  use  of  such  materials  as  came  within  my  reach,  in 
cluding  incidents  and  reminiscences  made  public 

during  the  last  summer,  and  I  trust  I  have  sue- 

(5) 


6  PREFACE. 

ceeded,  in  a  measure,  in  conveying  a  correct  idea 
of  a  character  whose  nobility  we  have  only 
learned  to  appreciate  since  death  has  snatched  our 
leader  from  us. 

I  take  pleasure  in  acknowledging  my  obligations 
to  two  Lives  of  Garfield,  one  by  Edmund  Ivirke, 
the  other  by  Major  J.  M.  Bundy.  Such  of  my 
readers  as  desire  a  more  extended  account  of  the 
later  life  of  Gen.  Garfield,  I  refer  to  these  well- 
written  and  instructive  works. 

HOEATIO  ALGEE,  JR. 

New  York,  Oct.  8,  1881. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.— THE  FIRST  PAIR  OF  SHOES,  -          -  9 

II.— GROWING  IN  WISDOM  AND  STATURE,  17 

III.— IN  QUEST  OF  FORTUNE,  26 

IV.— ON  THE  TOW-PATH,  35 

V.— AN  IMPORTANT  CONVERSATION,         -  44 

VI.— JAMES  LEAVES  THE  CANAL,    -           -  52 

VII. — THE  CHOICE  OF  A  VOCATION,            -  61 

VIII.— GEAUGA  SEMINARY,      -                      -  70 

IX.— WAYS  AND  MEANS,       -                      -  79 

X.— A  COUSIN'S  REMINISCENCES,   -           -  87 

XI. — LEDGE  HILL  SCHOOL,  -                      -  96 

XII.— WHO   SHALL  BE  MASTER  ?                         -  105 

XIII.— JAMES  LEAVES  GEAUGA  SEMINARY,-  114 

XIV. — AT  HIRAM  INSTITUTE,-  123 

XV.— THREE  BUSY  YEARS,   -  132 

XVI. — ENTERING  WILLIAMS  COLLEGE,  141 

XVII. — LIFE  IN  COLLEGE,                               -  152 

XVIII. — THE  CANAL-BOY  BECOMES  A  COLLEGE 

PRESIDENT,  -                                   -  161 

XIX. — GARFIELD  AS  A  COLLEGE  PRESIDENT,  170 

(7) 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XX. — GARFIELD  BECOMES  A  STATE  SENATOR,  179 

XXI.— A  DIFFICULT  DUTY,  187 

XXII. — JOHN  JORDAN'S  DANGEROUS  JOURNEY,  196 

XXIIL— GARFIELD'S  BOLD  STRATEGY,  205 

XXIV. — THE  BATTLE  OF  MIDDLE  CREEK,     -  214 

XXV.— THE    PERILOUS   TRIP   UP  THE   BIG 

SANDY,                                            -  224 
XXVI.— THE    CANAL-BOY    BECOMES   A   CON 
GRESSMAN,   -                                 -  234 
XXVII. — GARFIELD'S  COURSE  IN  CONGRESS,  -  243 
XXVIII.— THE  MAN  FOR  THE  HOUR,     -           -  253 
XXIX. — GARFIELD  AS  A  LAWYER,       -           -  2G2 
XXX. — THE  SCHOLAR  IN  POLITICS,    -           -  271 
XXXI.— THE  TRIBUTES  OF  FRIENDS,  -           -  280 
XXXII. — FROM  CANAL-BOY  TO  PRESIDENT,     -  290 
XXXIII.— THE  NEW  ADMINISTRATION,  -  298 
XXXIV.— THE  TRAGIC  END,  307 
XXXV. — MR.    DEPEW'S    ESTIMATE    OF    GAR- 
FIELD,                                            -  318 
XXXVI.— THE  LESSONS  OF  HIS  LIFE,     -           -  327 


THE 

BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD 


OF 


JAMES   A.  GARF1ELD, 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE  'FIRST   PAIR    OF    SHOES. 

FROM  a  small  and  rudely-built  log-cabin 
sturdy  boy  of  four  years  issued,  and  looked  ear 
nestly  across  the  clearing  to  the  pathway  that  led 
through  the  surrounding  forest.  His  bare  feet 
pressed  the  soft  grass,  which  spread  like  a  carpet 
before  the  door. 

"What  are  you  looking  for,  Jimmy?"  asked 
his  mother  from  within  the  humble  dwelling. 

"  I'm  looking  for  Thomas,"  said  Jimmy. 

"  It's  hardly  time  for  him  yet.     He  won't  be 
through  work  till  after  sunset." 

"  Then  I  wish  the  sun  would  set  quick,"  said 
Jimmy. 

(9) 


10          BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"  That  is  something  we  can  not  hasten,  my  son. 
God  makes  the  sun  to  rise  and  to  set  in  its  due 
season." 

This  idea  was  probably  too  advanced  for  Jim 
my's  comprehension,  for  he  was  but  four  years  of 
age,  and  the  youngest  of  a  family  of  four  chil 
dren.  His  father  had  died  two  years  before, 
leaving  a  young  widow,  and  four  children,  the 
eldest  but  nine,  in  sore  straits.  A  long  and 
severe  winter  lay  before  the  little  family,  and 
they  had  but  little  corn  garnered  to  carry  them 
through  till  the  next  harvest.  But  the  young 
widow  was  a  brave  woman  and  a  devoted  mother. 

"  God  will  provide  for  us,"  she  said,  but  some 
times  it  seemed  a  mystery  how  that  provision  was 
to  come.  More  than  once,  when  the  corn  was 
low  in  the  bin,  she  went  to  bed  without  her  own 
supper,  that  her  four  children,  who  were  blessed 
with  hearty  appetites,  might  be  satisfied.  But 
when  twelve  months  had  gone  by,  and  the  new 
harvest  came  in,  the  fields  which  she  and  her  old 
est  boy  had  planted  yielded  enough  to  place  them 
beyond  the  fear  of  want.  God  did  help  them, 
Put  it  was  because  they  helped  themselves. 

Bat   beyond   the   barest  necessaries  the  little 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  H 

family  neither  expected  nor  obtained  much. 
Clothing  cost  money,  and  there  was  very  little 
money  in  the  log -cabin,  or  indeed  in  the  whole 
settlement,  if  settlement  it  can  be  called.  There 
was  no  house  within  a  mile,  and  the  village  a 
mile  and  a  half  away  contained  only  a  school- 
house,  a  grist-mill,  and  a  little  log  store  and  dwell 
ing. 

Two  weeks  before  my  story  opens,  a  farmer 
living  not  far  away  called  at  the  log  -  cabin. 
Thomas,  the  oldest  boy,  was  at  work  in  a  field 
near  the  house. 

"  Do  you  want  to  see  mother  ? "  he  asked. 

"  No,  I  want  to  see  you." 

61  All  right,  sir !  Here  I  am,"  said  Thomas, 
smiling  pleasantly. 

"  How  old  are  you  ? "  asked  the  farmer. 

"  Eleven  years  old,  sir." 

The  farmer  surveyed  approvingly  the  sturdy 
frame,  broad  shoulders,  and  muscular  arms  of  the 
boy,  and  said,  after  a  pause,  "  You  look  pretty 
strong  of  your  age." 

"  Oh,  yes,  sir,"  answered  Thomas,  complacently 
"  I  am  strong." 

"  And  you  are  used  to  farm  work  ?  " 


12          BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"  Yes,  sir.  I  do  about  all  the  outdoor  work 
at  home,  being  the  only  boj.  Of  course,  there 
is  Jimmy,  but  he  is  only  four,  and  that's  too 
young  to  work  on  the  farm." 

"  What  does  he  want  ? "  thought  Thomas. 

He  soon  learned. 

"  I  need  help  on  my  farm,  and  I  guess  you  will 
suit  me,"  said  Mr.  Conrad,  though  that  was  not 
his  name.  In  fact,  I  don't  know  his  name,  but 
that  will  do  as  well  as  any  other. 

"  I  don't  know  whether  mother  can  spare  me, 
but  I  can  ask  her,"  said  Thomas.  "  What  are  you 
willing  to  pay  'i  " 

"I'll  give  you  twelve  dollars  a  month,  but 
you'll  have  to  make  long  days." 

Twelve  dollars  a  month  !  Tom's  eyes  sparkled 
with  joy,  for  to  him  it  seemed  an  immense  sum — 
and  it  would  go  very  far  in  the  little  family. 

"  I  am  quite  sure  mother  will  let  me  go,"  he 
said.  "  I'll  go  in  and  ask  her." 

"  Do  so,  sonny,  and  I'll  wait  for  you  here." 

Thomas  swung  open  the  plank  door,  and  entered 
the  cabin. 

It  was  about  twenty  feet  one  way  by  thirty 
the  other.  It  had  three  small  windows,  a  deal 


JAMES  A.    OABFIELD.  ]3 

floor,  and  the  spaces  between  the  logs  of  which  it 
was  built  were  filled  in  with  clay.  It  was  cer 
tainly  an  humble  dwelling,  and  the  chances  are 
that  not  one  of  my  young  readers  is  so  poor  as 
not  to  afford  a  better.  Yet,  it  was  not  uncom 
fortable.  It  afforded  fair  protection  from  the 
heat  of  summer,  and  the  cold  of  winter,  and  was 
after  all  far  more  desirable  as  a  home  than  the 
crowded,  tenements  of  our  larger  cities,  for  those 
who  occupied  it  had  but  to  open  the  door  and 
windows  to  breathe  the  pure  air  of  heaven,  uncon- 
taminated  by  foul  odors  or  the  taint  of  miasma. 

"  Mother,"  said  Thomas,  "  Mr.  Conrad  wants 
to  hire  me  to  work  on  his  farm,  and  he  is  willing 
to  pay  me  twelve  dollars  a  month..  May  I  go  ?  " 

"  Ask  Mr.  Conrad  to  come  in,  Thomas." 

The  farmer  entered,  and  repeated  his  request. 

Mrs.  Garfield,  for  this  was  the  widow's  name, 
was  but  little  over  thirty.  She  had  a  strong, 
thoughtful  face,  and  a  firm  mouth,  that  spoke  a 
decided  character.  She  was  just  the  woman  to 
grapple  with  adversity,  and  turning  her  unwea 
ried  hands  to  any  work,  tojrear  up  her  children  in 
the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  provide  for  their  neces 
sities  as  well  as  circumstances  would  admit. 


14         BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

She  didn't  like  to  spare  Thomas,  for  much  of 
his  work  would  be  thrown  upon  her,  but  there 
was  great  lack  of  ready  money  and  the  twelve 
dollars  were  a  powerful  temptation. 

"I  need  Thomas  at  home,"  she  said  slowly, 
"  but  I  need  the  money  more.  He  may  go,  if 
he  likes." 

"  I  will  go,"  said  Thomas  promptly. 

"How  often  can  you  let  him  come  home?'' 
was  the  next  question. 

"  Every  fortnight,  on  Saturday  night.  He  shall 
bring  his  wages  then.'' 

This  was  satisfactory,  and  Thomas,  not  stop 
ping  to  change  his  clothes,  for  he  had  but  one 
suit,  went  off  with  his  employer. 

His  absence  naturally  increased  his  mother's 
work,  and  was  felt  as  a  sore  loss  by  Jimmy,  who  was 
in  the  habit  of  following  him  about,  and  watching 
him  when  he  was  at  work.  Sometimes  his  brother 
gave  the  little  fellow  a  trifle  to  do,  and  Jimmy 
was  always  pleased  to  help,  for  he  was  fond  of 
work,  and  when  he  grew  older  and  stronger  he 
was  himself  a  sturdy  and  indefatigable  worker  in 
ways  not  dreamed  of  then. 

The  first  fortnight  was  up,  and   Thomas  was 


JAMES  A.   OAEF1ELD.  15 

expected  home.  No  one  was  more  anxious  to 
see  him  than  his  little  brother,  and  that  was  why 
Jimmy  had  come  out  from  his  humble  home,  and 
was  looking  so  earnestly  across  the  clearing. 

At  last  he  saw  him,  and  ran  as  fast  as  short  legs 
could  carry  him  to  meet  his  brother. 

"  Oh,  Tommy,  how  I've  missed  you  !  "  he  said. 

"  Have  you,  Jimmy  ?  "  asked  Thomas,  passing 
his  arm  around  his  little  brother's  neck.  "  I  have 
missed  you  too,  and  all  the  family.  Are  all  well  ?  " 

«  Oh,  yes." 

"  That  is  good." 

As  they  neared  the  cabin  Mrs.  Garfield  came 
out,  and  welcomed  her  oldest  boy  home. 

"  We  are  all  glad  to  see  you,  Thomas,"  she  said. 
"  How  have  you  got  along  ?  " 

"Very  well,  mother." 

"  Was  the  work  hard  ? " 

"  The  hours  were  pretty  long.  I  had  to  work 
fourteen  hours  a  day." 

"That  is  too  long  for  a  boy  of  your  age  to 
work,"  said  his  mother  anxiously. 

"  Oh,  it  hasn't  hurt  me,  mother,"  said  Thomas, 
laughing.  "  Besides,  you  must  remember  I  have 
been  well  paid.  What  do  you  say  to  that  ? " 


16  JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 

He  drew  from  his  pocket  twelve  silver  half-dol 
lars,  and  laid  them  on  the  table,  a  glittering  heap. 

"Is  it  all  yours,  Tommy?"  asked  his  little 
brother  wonderingly. 

"  No,  it  belongs  to  mother.     I  give  it  to  her." 

"  Thank  you,  Thomas,"  said  Mrs.  Garfield,  "  but 
at  least  you  ought  to  be  consulted  about  how  it 
shall  be  spent.  Is  there  anything  you  need  for 
yourself  ? " 

"  Oh,  never  mind  me !  I  want  Jimmy  to  have 
a  pair  of  shoes." 

Jimmy  looked  with  interest  at  his  little  bare 
feet,  and  thought  he  would  like  some  shoes.  In 
fact  they  would  be  his  first,  for  thus  far  in  life  he 
had  been  a  barefooted  boy. 

"  Jimmy  shall  have  his  shoes,"  said  Mrs.  Gar- 
field  ;  "  when  you  see  the  shoemaker  ask  him  to 
come  here  as  soon  as  he  can  make  it  convenient.' 

So,  a  few  days  later  the  shoemaker,  who  may 
possibly  have  had  no  shop  of  his  own,  called  at 
the  log-cabin,  measured  Jimmy  for  a  pair  of 
shoes,  and  made  them  on  the  spot,  boarding  out 
a  part  of  his  pay. 

The  first  pair  of  shoes  made  an  important 
epoch  in  Jimmy  Garfield's  life,  for  it  was  decided 
that  he  could  now  go  to  school. 


CHAPTEE  II. 

GROWING    IN    WISDOM    AND    STATURE. 

THE  school  was  in  the  village  a  mile  and  a  half 
away.  It  was  a  long  walk  for  a  little  boy  of  four, 
but  sometimes  his  sister  Mehetabel,  now  thirteen 
years  old,  carried  him  on  her  back.  When  in 
winter  the  snow  lay  deep  on  the  ground  Jimmy's 
books  were  brought  home,  and  he  recited  his  les 
sons  to  his  mother. 

This  may  be  a  good  time  to  say  something  of  the 
family  whose  name  in  after  years  was  to  become  a 
household  word  throughout  the  republic.  They  had 
been  long  in  the  country.  They  were  literally 
one  of  the  first  families,  for  in  1636,  only  sixteen 
years  after  the  Pilgrims  landed  on  Plymouth  rock, 
and  the  same  year  that  Harvard  College  was 
founded,  Edward  Garfield,  who  had  come  from 
the  edge  of  Wales,  settled  in  Watertown,  Massa 
chusetts,  less  than  four  miles  from  the  infant  col 
lege,  and  there  for  more  than  a  century  was  the 
2  (17) 


}g  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

family  home,  as  several  moss-grown  headstones  in 
the  ancient  graveyard  still  testify. 

They  did  their  part  in  the  Kevolutionary  war, 
and  it  was  not  till  the  war  was  over  that  Solomon 
Garfield,  the  great  grandfather  of  the  future  Pres 
ident,  removed  to  the  town  of  Worcester,  Otsego 
Comity,  N.  Y.  Here  lived  the  Garfields  for 
two  generations.  Then  Abram  Garfield,  the 
father  of  James,  moved  to  Northeastern  Ohio,  and 
bought  a  tract  of  eighty  acres,  on  which  stood  the 
log-cabin,  built  by  himself,  in  which  our  story 
opens.  His  wife  belonged  to  a  distinguished  fam 
ily  of  New  England — the  Ballous — and  possessed 
the  strong  traits  of  her  kindred. 

But  the  little  farm  of  eighty  acres  was  smaller 
now.  Abram  Garfield  died  in  debt,  and  his  wife 
sold  off  fifty  acres  to  pay  his  creditors,  leaving 
thirty,  which  with  her  own  industry  and  that  of 
her  oldest  son  served  to  maintain  her  little  family. 

The  school-house  was  so  far  away  that  Mrs.  Gar- 
field,  who  appreciated  the  importance  of  educa 
tion  for  her  children,  offered  her  neighbors  a  site 
for  a  new  school-house  on  her  own-  land,  and  one 
was  built.  Here  winter  after  winter  came  teach 
ers,  some  of  limited  qualifications,  to  instruct  the 


JAMES  A.   GAEFIELD.  19 

children  of  the  neighborhood,  and  here  Jimmy 
enlarged  his  stock  of  book-learning  by  slow  de 
grees. 

The  years  passed,  and  still  they  lived  in  the 
humble  log-cabin,  till  at  the  age  of  twenty-one 
Thomas  came  home  from  Michigan,  where  he  had 
been  engaged  in  clearing  land  for  a  farmer,  bring 
ing  seventy-five  dollars  in  gold. 

"  Now,  mother,"  he  said,  "  you  shall  have  a 
framed  house." 

Seventy-five  dollars  would  not  pay  for  a  framed 
house,  but  he  cut  timber  himself,  got  out  the 
boards,  and  added  his  own  labor,  and  that  of  Jim 
my,  now  fourteen  years  old,  and  so  the  house  was 
built,  and  the  log-cabin  became  a  thing  of  the 
past.  But  it  had  been  their  home  for  a  long  time, 
and  doubtless  many  happy  days  had  been  spent 
beneath  its  humble  roof. 

While  the  house  was  being  built,  Jimmy  learned 
one  thing — that  he  was  handy  with  tools,  and  was 
well  fitted  to  become  a  carpenter.  When  the 
joiner  told  him  that  he  was  born  to  be  a  carpenter, 
he  thought  with  joy  that  this  unexpected  talent 
would  enable  him  to  help  his  mother,  and  earn 
something  toward  the  family  expenses.  So,  for 


20  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

the  next  two  years  lie  worked  at  this  new  busi 
ness  when  opportunity  offered,  and  if  my  reader 
should  go  to  Chagrin  Falls,  Ohio,  he  could  proba 
bly  find  upon  inquiry  several  barns  in  the  vicinity 
which  Jimmy  helped  to  build. 

He  still  went  to  school,  however,  and  obtained 
such  knowledge  of  the  mysteries  of  grammar, 
arithmetic,  and  geography  as  could  be  obtained 
in  the  common  schools  of  that  day. 

But  Jimmy  Garfield  was  not  born  to  be  a  car 
penter,  and  I  believe  never  got  so  far  along  as  to 
assist  in  building  a  house. 

He  was  employed  to  build  a  wood-shed  for  a 
black-salter,  ten  miles  away  from  his  mother's 
house,  and  when  the  job  was  finished  his  employer 
fell  into  conversation  with  him,  and  being  a  man 
of  limited  acquirements  himself,  was  impressed 
by  the  boy's  surprising  stock  of  knowledge. 

"  You  kin  read,  you  kin  write,  and  you  are 
death  on  figgers,"  he  said  to  him  one  day.  "If 
you'll  stay  with  me,  keep  my  'counts,  and 'tend  to 
the  saltery,  I'll  find  you,  and  give  you  fourteen 
dollars  a  month." 

Jimmy  was  dazzled  by  this  brilliant  offer.  He 
felt  that  to  accept  it  would  be  to  enter  upon  the 


JAMES  A.    GARF1ELD.  21 

high-road  to  riches,  and  he  resolved  to  do  so  if 
liis  mother  would  consent.  Ten  miles  he  trudged 
through  the  woods  to  ask  his  mother's  consent, 
which  with  some  difficulty  he  obtained,  for  she 
did  not  know  to  what  influences  he  might  be  sub 
jected,  and  so  he  got  started  in  a  new  business. 

Whether  he  would  have  fulfilled  his  employer's 
prediction,  and  some  day  been  at  the  head  of  a 
saltery  of  his  own,  we  can  not  tell ;  but  in  time 
he  became  dissatisfied  with  his  situation,  and 
returning  home,  waited  for  Providence  to  indi 
cate  some  new  path  on  which  to  enter. 

One  thing,  however,  was  certain :  he  would  not 
be  content  to  remain  long  without  employment. 
He  had  an  active  temperament,  and  would  have 
been  happiest  when  busy,  even  if  he  had  not 
known  that  his  mother  needed  the  fruits  of  his 
labor. 

He  had  one  source  of  enjoyment  while  em 
ployed  by  the  black-salter,  which  he  fully  appre 
ciated.  Strange  to  say,  his  employer  had  a  libra 
ry,  that  is,  he  had  a  small  collection  of  books, 
gathered  by  his  daughter,  prominent  among  which 
were  Marryatt's  novels,  and  "  Sinbad  the  Sailor." 
They  opened  a  new  world  to  his  young  account- 


22          BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

ant,  and  gave  him  an  intense  desire  to  see  the 
world,  and  especially  to  cross  the  great  sea,  even 
•  in  the  capacity  of  a  sailor.  At  home  there  was 
no  library,  not  from  the  lack  of  literary  taste,  but 
because  there  was  no  money  to  spend  for  any 
thing  but  necessaries. 

He  had  not  been  long  at  home  when  a  neigh 
bor,  entering  one  day,  said,  "  James,  do  you  want 
a  job?" 

"  Yes,"  answered  James,  eagerly. 

"  There's  a  farmer  in  Newburg  wants  some 
wood  chopped." 

"  I  can  do  it,"  said  James,  quietly. 

"Then  you'd  better  go  and  see  him." 

Newburg  is  within  the  present  limits  of  Cleve 
land,  and  thither  James  betook  himself  the  next 
day. 

He  was  a  stout  boy,  with  the  broad  shoulders 
and  sturdy  frame  of  his  former  ancestors,  and  lie 
was  sure  he  could  give  satisfaction. 

The  farmer,  dressed  in  homespun,  looked  up 
as  the  boy  approached. 

"  Are  you  Mr.  -    —  ?  "  asked  James. 

"  Yes." 

"  I  heard  that  you  wanted  some  wood  chopped." 


JAMES  A.   GARF1ELD.  23 

"Yes,  but  I  am  not  sure  if  you  can  do  it,"  an 
swered  the  farmer,  surveying  the  boy  critically. 

"  I  can  do  it,"  said  James,  confidently. 

"  Very  well,  you  can  try.  I'll  give  you  seven 
dollars  for  the  job." 

The  price  was  probably  satisfactory,  for  James 
engaged  to  do  the  work.  There  proved  to  be 
twenty-five  cords,  and  no  one,  I  think,  will  con 
sider  that  he  was  overpaid  for  his  labor. 

He  was  fortunate,  at  least,  in  the  scene  of  his 
labor,  for  it  was  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  and 
as  he  lifted  his  eyes  from  his  work  they  rested 
on  the  broad  bosom  of  the  beautiful  lake,  almost 
broad  enough  as  it  appeared  to  be  the  ocean  itself, 
which  he  had  a  strange  desire  to  traverse  in  search 
of  the  unknown  lands  of  which  he  had  read  or 
dreamed. 

I  suppose  there  are  few  boys  wrho  have  not  at 
some  time  fancied  that  they  should  like  "  a  life 
on  the  ocean  wave,  and  a  home  on  the  rolling 
deep."  I  have  in  mind  a  friend,  now  a  physician, 
who  at  the  age  of  fifteen  left  a  luxurious  home, 
with  the  reluctant  permission  of  his  parents,  for 
a  voyage  before  the  mast  to  Liverpool,  beguiled 
by  one  of  the  fascinating  narratives  of  Herman, 


24  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

Melville.  But  the  romance  very  soon  wore  off, 
and  by  the  time  the  boy  readied  Halifax,  where 
the  ship  put  in,  he  was  so  seasick,  and  so  sick  of 
the  sea,  that  he  begged  to  be  left  on  shore  to  re 
turn  home  as  he  might.  The  captain  had  re 
ceived  secret  instructions  from  the  parents  to  ac 
cede  to  such  a  wish,  and  the  boy  was  landed,  and 
in  due  time  returned  home  as  a  passenger.  So  it 
is  said  that  George  Washington  had  an  early  pas 
sion  for  the  sea,  and  would  have  become  a  sailor 
but  for  the  pain  he  knew  it  would  give  his  mother. 

James  kept  his  longings  to  himself  for  the 
present,  and  returned  home  with  the  seven  dol 
lars  he  had  so  hardly  earned. 

There  was  more  work  for  him  to  do.  A  Mr. 
Treat  wanted  help  during  the  haying  and  harvest 
ing  season,  and  offered  employment  to  the  boy, 
who  was  already  strong  enough  to  do  almost  as 
much  as  a  man ;  for  James  already  had  a  good 
reputation  as  a  faithful  worker.  "  Whatever  his 
hands  found  to  do,  he  did  it  with  his  might,"  and 
he  was  by  no  means  fastidious  as  to  the  kind  of 
work,  provided  it  was  honest  and  honorable. 

When  the  harvest  work  was  over  Jarrfes "made 
known  his  passion  for  the  sea. 


JAMES  A.   GARF1ELD.  25 

Going  to  his  mother,  he  said  :  "  Mother,  I  want 
above  all  things  to  go  to  sea.'5 

"Go  to  sea!"  replied  his  mother  in  dismay. 
"  What  has  put  such  an  idea  into  your  head  ?" 

"  It  has  been  in  my  head  for  a  long  time,"  an 
swered  the  boy  quietly.  "  1  have  thought  of  noth 
ing  else  for  the  last  year." 


CHAPTER    III. 

IN    QUEST    OF    FORTUNE. 

JAMES  had  so  persuaded  himself  that  the  sea 
was  his  vocation,  and  was  so  convinced  of  the 
pleasures  and  advantages  it  would  bring,  that  it 
had  not  occurred  to  him  that  his  mother  would 
object. 

"  What  made  you  think  of  the  sea,  James  ? " 
his  mother  asked  with  a  troubled  face. 

"  It  was  the  books  I  read  last  year,  at  the  black- 
salter's.  Oh,  mother,  did  you  ever  read  Marry- 
att's  novels,  and  i  Sinbad  the  Sailor  '  ? " 

"  I  have  read  '  Sinbad  the  Sailor,'  but  you  know 
that  is  a  fairy  story,  nay  son." 

"  It  may  be,  but  Marryatt's  stories  are  not.  It 
must  be  splendid  to  travel  across  the  mighty 
ocean,  and  see  foreign  countries." 

"  A  sailor  doesn't  have  the  chance  to  see  much. 
You  have  no  idea  of  the  hardships  of  his  life." 

"  I  am  used  to  hardships,  and  I  am  not  afraid 
(26) 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  27 

of  hard  work.  But  you  seem  disappointed, 
mother.  What  have  you  thought  of  for  rne  ?  " 

"  I  have  hoped,  James,  that  you  might  become 
a  learned  man,  perhaps  a  college  professor.  Surely 
that  would  be  better  than  to  be  a  common  sailor." 

"  But  I  wouldn't  stay  a  common  sailor,  mother. 
I  would  be  a  captain  some  time." 

1  suppose  there  is  no  doubt  that,  had  James 
followed  the  sea,  he  would  have  risen  to  the  com 
mand  of  a  ship,  but  the  idea  did  not  seem  to 
dazzle  his  mother. 

"If  you  go  to  sea  I  shall  lose  you,"  said  his 
mother.  "  A.  sailor  can  spend  very  little  time 
with  his  family.  Think  carefully,  my  son.  I 
believe  your  present  fancy  will  be  short-lived, 
and  you  will  some  day  wonder  that  you  ever  en 
tertained  it." 

Such,  however,  was  not  the  boy's  idea  at  the 
time.  His  mother  might  have  reason  on  her  side, 
,but  it  takes  more  than  reason  to  dissipate  a  boy's 
passion  for  the  sea. 

"  You  speak  of  my  becoming  a  scholar, 
mother,"  he  said,  "  but  there  doesn't  seem  much 
chance  of  it.  I  see  nothing  but  work  as  a  car 
penter,  or  on  the  farm." 


28         BOYHOOD  AND  MANUOOD  OF 

"  You  don't  know  what  God  may  have  in  store 
for  you,  my  son.  As  you  say,  there  seems  no 
way  open  at  present  for  you  to  become  a  scholar  ; 
but  if  you  entertain  the  desire  the  way  will  be 
Success  comes  to  Mm  .who  is  in  earnest." 

"  What,  then,  do  you  want  me  to  do,  mother  ? 
Do  you  wish  me  to  stay  at  home  ? " 

"  No,  for  there  seems  little  for  you  to  do  here. 
Go  to  Cleveland,  if  you  like,  and  seek  some 
respectable  employment.  If,  after  a  time,  you 
find  your  longing  for  the  sea  unconquered,  it  will 
be  time  to  look  out  for  a  berth  on  board  ship." 

James,  in  spite  of  his  earnest  longing  to  go  to 
sea,  was  a  reasonable  boy,  and  he  did  not  object 
to  his  mother's  plan.  The  next  morning  he  tied 
his  slender  stock  of  clothing  in  a  small  bundle, 
bade  a  tearful  good-bye  to  his  mother,  whose 
loving  glances  followed  him  far  along  his  road, 
and  with  hope  and  enthusiasm  trudged  over  a 
hard  road  to  Cleveland,  that  beautiful  city, 
whither,  nearly  forty  years  afterward,  he  was  to 
be  carried  in  funereal  state,  amid  the  tears  of 
countless  thousands.  In  that  city  where  his  active 
life  began,  it  was  to  finish. 

A  long  walk  was  before  him,  for   Cleveland 


JAMES  A.    OARFIELD.  29 

was  seventeen  miles  away.  He  stopped  to  rest 
at  intervals,  and  it  was  not  until  the  sun  had  set 
and  darkness  enveloped  the  town  that  he  entered 
it  with  weary  feet. 

He  betook  himself  to  a  cheap  boarding  place 
whither  he  had  been  directed,  and  soon  retired  to 
bed.  His  fatigue  brought  him  a  good  night's 
sleep,  and  he  woke  refreshed  and  cheered  to  look 
about  him  and  decide  upon  his  future  plans. 

Cleveland  does  not  compare  in  size  with  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  or  Boston,  and  thirty-five 
years  ago  it  was  much  smaller  than  now.  But 
compared  with  James'  native  place,  and  the  vil 
lages  near  him,  it  was  an  impressive  place.  There 
were  large  business  blocks,  and  handsome  churches, 
and  paved  streets,  and  a  general  city-like  appear 
ance  which  interested  James  greatly.  On  the  whole, 
even  if  he  had  to  give  up  going  to  sea, bethought 
he  might  enjoy  himself  in  such  a  lively  place  as 
this.  But  of  course  he  must  find  employment. 

So  he  went  into  a  store  and  inquired  if  they 
wanted  a  boy. 

"  "What  can  you  do?"  asked  the  storekeeper? 
looking  at  the  boy  with  his  countrified  air  and 
rustic  suit. 


30  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

"I  can  read,  write,  and  cipher,"  answered 
James. 

"  Indeed !  "  said  the  storekeeper  smiling.  "  All 
our  boys  can  do  that.  Is  that  all  you  can  do  'i " 

James  might  have  answered  that  he  could  chop 
wood,  work  at  carpentering,  plant  and  harvest, 
but  he  knew  very  well  that  these  accomplishments 
would  be  but  little  service  to  him  here.  Indeed, 
he  was  rather  puzzled  to  know  what  he  could  do 
that  would  earn  him  a  living  in  a  smart  town  like 
Cleveland.  However,  he  didn't  much  expect  to 
find  his  first  application  successful,  so  he  entered 
another  store  and  preferred  his  request. 

"You  won't  suit  us,"  was  the  brusque  reply. 
"  You  come  from  the  country,  don't  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"You  look  like  it.  Well,  I  will  give  you  a 
piece  of  advice." 

"What  is  that,  sir?" 

"  Go  back  there.  You  are  better  suited  to  the 
\  country  than  the  city.  I  daresay  you  would 
/  make  a  very  good  hand  on  a  farm.  We  need  a 
different  sort  of  boys  here." 

This  was  discouraging.  James  didn't  know 
why  he  would  not  do  for  a  city  store  or  office. 


JAMKS  A.    OAR  FIELD.  gj 

He  was  strong  enough,  and  he  thought  he  knew 
enough,  for  he  had  not  at  present  much  idea  of 
what  was  taught  at  seminaries  of  a  higher  grade 
than  the  district  schools  he  had  been  accustomed 
to  attend. 

"  Well,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  I've  done  what 
mother  asked  me  to  do.  I've  tried  to  get  a  place 
here,  and  there  doesn't  seem  to  be  a  place  for 
me.  After  all,  I  don't  know  but  I'd  better  go  to 
sea." 

Cleveland  was  not  of  course  a  sea-port,  but  it 
had  considerable  lake  trade,  and  had  a  line  of 
piers. 

James  found  his  way  to  the  wharves,  and  his 
eye  lighted  up  as  he  saw  the  sloops  and  schooners 
which  were  engaged  in  inland  trade.  He  had 
never  seen  a  real  ship,  or  those  schooners  and 
sloops  would  have  had  less  attraction  for  him. 

In  particular  his  attention  was  drawn  to  one 
schooner,  not  over-clean  or  attractive,  but  with  a 
sea-faring  look,  as  if  it  had  been  storm-tossed  and 
buffeted.  Half  a  dozen  sailors  were  on  board,  but 
they  were  grimed  and  dirty,  and  looked  like  na^ 
bitual  drinkers  —  probably  James  would  not  have 
fancied  becoming  like  one  of  these,  but  he  gave 


32          BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

little  thought  to  their  appearance.  He  only 
thought  how  delightful  it  would  be  to  have  such 
,a  floating  home. 

"  Is  the  captain  on  board  ?  "  the  boy  ventured 
to  ask. 

"  He's  down  below,"  growled  the  sailor  whom 
he  addressed. 

"  Will  he  soon  come  up  ? " 

He  was  answered  in  the  affirmative. 

So  James  lingered  until  the  man  he  inquired 
for  came  up. 

He  was  a  brutal-looking  man,  as  common  in 
appearance  as  any  of  the  sailors  whom  he  com 
manded,  and  the  boy  was  amazed  at  his  bearing. 
Surely  that  man  was  not  his  ideal  of  a  ship-cap 
tain.  He  thought  of  him  as  a  sort  of  prince,  but 
there  was  nothing  princely  about  the  miserable, 
bloated  wretch  before  him. 

Still  he  preferred  his  application. 

"  Do  you  want  a  new  hand  ?"  asked  James. 

His  answer  was  a  volley  of  oaths  and  curses 
that  made  James  turn  pale,  for  he  had  never  ut 
tered  an  oath  in  his  life,  and  had  never  listened 
to  anything  so  disgusting  as  the  tirade  to  which 
he  was  forced  to  listen. 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  33 

He  sensibly  concluded  that  nothing  was  to  be 
gained  by  continuing  the  conversation  with  such 
a  man.  lie  left  the  schooner's  deck  with  a  feel 
ing  of  discomfiture.  He  had  never  suspected  that 
sail  ore  talked  or  acted  like  the  men  he  saw. 

Still  he  clung  to  the  idea  that  all  sailors  were 
not  like  this  captain.  Perhaps  again  the  rebuff 
he  received  was  in  consequence  of  his  rustic  ap 
pearance.  The  captain  might  be  prejudiced 
against  him,  just  as  the  shop-keepers  had  been, 
though  the  latter  certainly  had  not  expressed 
themselves  in  such  rude  and  profane  language. 
He  might  not  be  fit  for  a  sailor  yet,  but  he  could 
prepare  himself. 

He  bethought  himself  of  a  cousin  of  his,  by 
name  Amos  Letcher,  who  had  not  indeed  arrived 
at  the  exalted  position  of  captain  of  a  schooner, 
but  was  content  with  the  humbler  position  of 
captain  of  a  canal-boat  on  the  Ohio  and  Pennsyl 
vania  Canal. 

This  seemed  to  James  a  lucky  thought. 

"  I  will  go  to  Amos  Letcher,"  he  said  to  him 
self.     "  Perhaps  he  can  find  me  a  situation  on  a 
canal-boat,  and  that  will  be  the  next  thing  to  being 
on  board  a  ship." 
3 


34  JAMES  A.    QAEFIELD. 

This  thought  put  fresh  courage  into  the  boy, 
and  he  straightway  inquired  for  the  Evening 
Star,  which  was  the  name  of  the  boat  commanded 
by  his  cousin. 


CHAPTER  1Y. 

ON    THE    TOW-PATH. 

CAPTAIN  LETCHER  regarded  his  young  cousin  in 
surprise. 

"  Well,  Jimmy,  what  "brings  you  to  Cleveland?" 
he  asked. 

"  I  came  here  to  ship  on  the  lake,"  the  boy  an 
swered.  "  1  tried  first  to  get  a  place  in  a  store,  us 
I  promised  mother,  but  I  found  no  opening.  I 
would  rather  be  a  sailor." 

"  I  am  afraid  your  choice  is  not  a  good  one ;  a 
good  place  on  land  is  much  better  than  going  to 
sea.  Have  you  tried  to  get  a  berth  ? " 

"  Yes,  I  applied  to  the  captain  of  a  schooner, 
but  he  swore  at  me  and  called  me  a  land-lubber." 

"  So  you  are,"  returned  his  cousin  smiling. 
"  "Well,  what  are  your  plans  now  ?  " 

"  Can't  you  give  me  a  place  ?  " 

"  What,  on  the  canal  ?  " 

"  Yes,  cousin." 

(35) 


3(5  BOYUOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

"  I  suppose  you  think  that  would  be  the  next 
thing  to  going  to  sea  ? " 

"  It  might  prepare  me  for  it." 

£;  Well,''  said  Captain  Letcher,  good-naturedly, 
u  I  will  see  what  I  can  do  for  you.  Can  you 
drive  a  pair  of  horses  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes." 

"  Then  I  will  engage  you.  The  pay  is  not  very 
large,  but  you  will  live  on  the  boat." 

"  How  much  do  you  pay  ?"  asked  James, who  was 
naturally  interested  in  the  answer  to  this  question. 

"  We  pay  from  eight  to  ten  dollars  a  month, 
according  to  length  of  service  and  fidelity.  Of 
course,  as  a  new  hand,  you  can  not  expert  ten 
dollars." 

"  I  shall  be  satisfied  with  eight,  cousin." 

"  Now,  as  to  your  duties.  You  will  work  six 
hours  on  and  six  hours  off.  That's  what  we  call 
a  trick — the  six  hours  on,  I  mean.  So  you  will 
have  every  other  six  hours  to  rest,  or  do  anything 
you  like ;  that  is,  after  you  have  attended  to  the 
horses." 

" Horses!"  repeated  James,  puzzled  ;  for  the 
animals  attached  to  the  boat  at  that  moment  were 
mules. 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELO. 


37 


"  Some  of  our  horses  are  mules,"  said  Captain 
Letch er,  smiling.  "However,  it  makes  no  differ 
ence.  You  will  have  to  feed  and  rub  them  down, 
and  then  you  can  lie  down  in  jour  bunk,  or  do 
anything  else  you  like." 

"  That  won't  be  very  hard  work,"  said  James, 
cheerfully. 

"  Oh,  I  forgot  to  say  that  you  can  ride  or  walk, 
as  you  choose.  You  can  rest  yourself  by  chang 
ing  from  one  to  the  other." 

James  thought  he  should  like  to  ride  on  horse 
back,  as  most  boys  do.  It  was  not,  however,  so 
good  fun  as  he  anticipated.  A  canal-boat  horse 
is  by  no  means  a  fiery  or  spirited  creature.  His 
usual  gait  is  from  two  to  two  and  a  half  miles  an 
hour,  and  to  a  boy  of  quick,  active  temperament 
the  slowness  must  be  rather  exasperating.  Yet, 
in  the  course  of  a  day  a  boat  went  a  considerable 
distance.  It  usually  made  fifty,  and  sometimes 
sixty  miles  a  day.  The  rate  depended  on  the 
number  of  locks  it  had  to  pass  through. 

Probably  most  of  my  young  readers  understand 
the  nature  of  a  lock.  As  all  water  seeks  a  level, 
there  would  be  danger  in  an  uneven  country  that 
some  parts  of  the  canal  would  be  left  entirely 


38  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

dry,  and  in  others  the  water  would  overflow. 
For  this  reason  at  intervals  locks  are  constructed, 
composed  of  brief  sections  of  the  canal  barri 
caded  at  each  end  by  gates.  When  a  boat  is  go 
ing  down,  the  near  gates  are  thrown  open  and  the 
boat  enters  the  lock,  the  water  rushing  in  till  a 

'  CD 

level  is  secured ;  then  the  upper  gates  are  closed, 
fastening  the  boat  in  the  lock.  Next  the  lower 
gates  are  opened,  the  water  in  the  lock  seeks  the 
lower  level  of  the  other  section  of  the  canal,  and 
the  boat  moves  out  of  the  lock,  the  water  subsid 
ing  gradually  beneath  it.  Next,  the  lower  gates 
are  closed,  and  the  boat  proceeds  on  its  way.  It 
will  easily  be  understood,  when  the  case  is  re 
versed,  and  the  boat  is  going  up,  how  after  being 
admitted  into  the  lock  it  will  be  lifted  up  to  the 
higher  level  when  the  upper  gates  are  thrown 
open. 

If  any  of  my  young  readers  find  it  difficult  to 
understand  my  explanation,  I  advise  them  to  read 
Jacob  Abbot's  excellent  book,  "  Hollo  on  the 
Erie  Canal,"  where  the  whole  matter  is  lucidly 
)lained. 

Railroads  were  not  at  that  time  as  common  as 
j  and  the  canal  was  of  much  more  importance 


JAMES  A.    QARFIELD.  39 

and  value  as  a  means  of  conveying  freight. 
Sometimes  passengers  traveled  that  way,  when 
they  were  in  not  much  of  a  hurry,  but  there  were 
no  express  canal-boats,  and  a  man  who  chose  to 
travel  in  that  way  must  have  abundant  leisure  on 
his  hands.  There  is  some  difference  between 
traveling  from  two  to  two  and  a  half  miles  an 
hour,  and  between  thirty  and  forty,  as  most  of  our 
railroad  express  trains  do. 

James  did  not  have  to  wait  long  after  his  en 
gagement  before  he  wras  put  on  duty.  With  boy 
ish  pride  he  mounted  one  of  the  mules  and  led 
the  other.  A  line  connected  the  mules  with  the 
boat,  which  was  drawn  slowly  and  steadily  through 
the  water.  James  felt  the  responsibility  of  his 
situation.  It  was  like  going  to  sea  on  a  small 
scale,  though  the  sea  wras  but  a  canal.  At  all 
events,  he  felt  that  he  had  more  important  work 
to  do  than  if  he  were  employed  as  a  boy  on  one 
of  the  lake  schooners. 

James  was  at  this  tinie  fifteen^  a  strong,  sturdy 

boy,  with  a  mass  of  auburn  hair,  partly  covered 

by  a  loose-fitting  hat.     He  had  a  bright,  intelli- 

I  gent  face,  and  an  earnest  look  that  attracted  gen- 

leral  attention.     Yet,  to   one  who  saw  the  boy 

*  * 


40  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

guiding  the  patient  mule  along  the  tow-path,  it 
would  have  seemed  a  most  improbable  prediction, 
that  one  day  the  same  hand  would  guide  the  ship 
of  State,  a  vessel  of  much  more  consequence 
than  the  humble  canal-boat. 

There  was  one  comfort,  at  any  rate.  Though 
in  his  rustic  garb  he  was  not  well  enough  dressed 

CD  O 

to  act  as  clerk  in  a  Cleveland  store,  no  one  com 
plained  that  he  was  not  well  enough  attired  for  a 
canal-boy. 

It  will  occur  to  my  young  reader  that,  though 
the  work  was  rather  monotonous,  there  was  not 
much  difficulty  or  danger  connected  with  it.  But 
even  the  guidance  of  a  canal -boat  has  its  per 
plexities,  and  James  was  not  long  in  his  new 
position  before  he  realized  it. 

It  often  happened  that  a  canal-boat  going  up 
encountered  another  going  down,  and  vice  versa. 
Then  care  has  to  be  exercised  by  the  respective 
drivers  lest  their  lines  get  entangled. 

All  had  been  going  on  smoothly  till  James  saw 
another  boat  coming.  It  might  have  been  his 
inexperience,  or  it  might  have  been  the  careless 
ness  of  the  other  driver,  but  at  any  rate  the  lines 
got  entangled.  Meanwhile  the  boat,  under  the 


JAMES  A.    OABFIELD.  41 

impetus  that  had  been  given  it,  kept  on  its  way 
until  it  was  even  with  the  horses,  and  seemed 
likely  to  tow  them  along. 

"Whip  up  your  team,  Jim,  or  your  line  will 
ketch  on  the  bridge  !  "  called  out  the  steersman. 

The  bridge  was  built  over  a  waste-way  which 
occurred  just  ahead,  and  it  was  necessary  for 
James  to  drive  over  it. 

The  caution  was  heeded,  but  too  late.  James 
whipped  up  his  mules,  but  when  he  had  reached 
the  middle  of  the  bridge  the  rope  tightened,  and 
before  the  young  driver  fairly  understood  what 
awaited  him,  he  and  his  team  were  jerked  into  the 
canal.  Of  course  he  was  thrown  off  the  animal 
he  was  riding,  and  found  himself  struggling  in 
the  water  side  by  side  with  the  astonished  mules. 
The  situation  was  a  ludicrous  one,  but  it  was  also 
attended  with  some  danger.  Even  if  he  did  not 
drown,  and  the  canal  was  probably  deep  enough 
for  that,  he  stood  in  some  danger  of  being  kicked 
by  the  terrified  mules. 

The  boy,  however,  preserved  his  presence  of 
mind,  and  managed,  with  help,  to  get  out  himself 
and  to  get  his  team  out. 

Then  Captain  Letcher  asked  him,  jocosely, 
"  What  were  you  doing  in  the  canal,  Jim  ?  " 


42         BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"  I  was  just  taking  my  morning  bath,"  answered 
the  hoy,  in  the  same  vein. 

"  You'll  do,"  said  the  captain,  struck  by  the 
boy's  coolness. 

Six  hours  passed,  and  James'  "  trick "  was 
over.  He  and  his  mules  were  both  relieved  from 
duty.  Both  were  allowed  to  come  on  board  the 
boat  and  rest  for  a  like  period,  while  the  other 
driver  took  his  place  on  the  tow-path. 

"  Well,  Jim,  how  do  you  like  it  as  far  as  you've 
got  ? "  asked  the  captain. 

"  I  like  it,"  answered  the  boy. 

"  Shall  you  be  ready  to  take  another  bath  to 
morrow  morning?"  asked  his  cousin,  slyly. 

"  I  think  one  bath  a  week  will  be  sufficient," 
was  the  answer. 

Feeling  a  natural  interest  in  his  young  cousin, 
Amos  Letcher  thought  he  would  examine  him  a 
little,  to  see  how  far  his  education  had  advanced. 
Respecting  his  own  ability  as  an  examiner  he  had 
little  doubt,  for  he  had  filled  the  proud  position 
of  teacher  in  Steuben  County,  Indiana,  for  three 
successive  winters. 

"I  suppose  you  have  been  to  school  more  or 
less,  Jim  ? "  he  said. 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  43 

"  Oh,  yes,"  answered  the  boy. 

"  What  have  you  studied  ? " 

James  enumerated  the  ordinary  school  branches. 
They  were  not  many,  for  his  acquirements  were 
not  extensive ;  but  he  had  worked  well,  and  was 
pretty  well  grounded  as  far  as  he  had  gone. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

AN   IMPORTANT   CONVERSATION. 

"I'VE  taught  school  myself,"  said  Captain 
Letcher,  complacently.  "I  taught  for  three 
winters  in  Indiana." 

James,  who,  even  then,  had  a  high  opinion  of 
learning,  regarded  the  canal-boat  captain  with 
increased  respect. 

"  I  didn't  know  that,"  he  answered,  duly 
impressed. 

"  Yes,  IVe  had  experience  as  a  teacher.  Now, 
if  you  don't  mind,  I'll  ask  you  a  few  questions, 
and  find  out  how  much  you  know.  We've  got 
plenty  of  time,  for  it's  a  long  way  to  Pancake 
Lock." 

"  Don't  ask  me  too  hard  questions,"  said  the 
boy.  "  I'll  answer  the  best  I  know." 

Upon  this  Captain  Letcher,  taking  a  little  time 
to  think,  began  to  question  his  young  cousin  in 

the  different  branches  he  had  enumerated.     The 
(44) 


JAMES  A.   OAR  FIELD.  45 

questions  were  not  very  hard,  for  the  good  cap 
tain,  though  he  had  taught  school  in  Indiana,  was 
not  a  profound  scholar. 

James  answered  every  question  promptly  and 
accurately,  to  the  increasing  surprise  of  his 
employer. 

The  latter  paused. 

"  Haven't  you  any  more  questions  ? "  asked 
James. 

"  No,  I  don't  think  of  any." 

"  Then  may  I  ask  you  some  ? " 

"  Yes,  if  you  want  to,"  answered  the  captain, 
rather  surprised. 

"Very  well,"  said  James.  "A  man  went  to 
a  shoemaker  and  bought  a  pair  of  boots,  for  which 
he  was  to  pay  five  dollars.  He  offered  a  fifty- 
dollar  bill,  which  the  shoemaker  sent  out  and  had 
changed.  He  paid  his  customer  forty-five  dollars 
in  change,  and  the  latter  walked  oif  with  the  boots. 
An  hour  later  he  ascertained  that  the  bill  was  a 
counterfeit,  and  he  was  obliged  to  pay  back  fifty 
dollars  in  good  money  to  the  man  who  had  changed 
the  bill  for  him.  Now,  how  much  did  he  lose  ? " 

"  That's  easy  enough.  He  lost  fifty  dollars  and 
the  boots." 


46          BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"  I  don't  think  that's  quite  right,"  said  James, 
smiling. 

"  Of  course  it  is.  Didn't  he  have  to  pay  back 
fifty  dollars  in  good  money,  and  didn't  the  man 
walk  off  with  the  boots  ?  " 

"  That's  true;  but  he  neither  lost  nor  made  by 
changing  the  bill.  He  received  fifty  dollars  in 
good  money  and  paid  back  the  same,  didn't  he  ? " 

"Yes." 

"  Whatever  he  lost  his  customer  made,  didn't 
he?" 

"Yes." 

"Well,  the  man  walked  off  with  forty-five 
dollars  and  a  pair  of  boots.  The  other  five  dollars 
the  shoemaker  kept  himself." 

"  That's  so,  Jim.  I  see  it  now,  but  it's  rather 
puzzling  at  first.  Did  you  make  that  out  your 
self?" 

"  Yes." 

"  Then  you've  got  a  good  head — better  than  I 
expected.  Have  you  got  any  more  questions  ?  " 

"  Just  a  few." 

So  the  boy  continued  to  ask  questions,  and  the 
captain  was  more  than  once  obliged  to  confess 
that  he  could  not  answer.  He  began  to  form  a 


JAMES  A.    GAKFIELD.  47 

new  opinion  of  his  young  cousin,  who,  though 
he  filled  the  humble  position  of  a  canal- boy,  ap 
peared  to  be  well  equipped  with  knowledge. 

"  I  guess  that'll  do,  Jim,"  he  said  after  a  while. 
"  You've  got  ahead  of  me,  though  I  4idn't  expect 
it.  A  boy  with  such  a  head  as  you've  got  ought 
not  to  be  on  the  tow-path." 

"  What  ought  I  to  be  doing,  cousin  ? " 

k<You  ought  to  keep  school.  You're  better 
qualified  than  I  am  to-day,  and  yet  I  taught  for 
three  winters  in  Indiana." 

James  was  pleased  with  this  tribute  to  his  ac 
quirements,  especially  from  a  former  school 
master. 

"  I  never  thought  of  that,"  he  said.  "  I'm  too 
young  to  keep  school.  I'm  only  fifteen." 

"  That  is  rather  young.  You  know  enough ; 
but  I  aint  sure  that  you  could  tackle  some  of  the 
big  boys  that  would  be  coming  to  school.  You 
know  enough,  but  you  need  more  muscle.  I'll 
tell  you  what  I  advise.  Stay  with  me  this  sum 
mer — it  won't  do  you  any  hurt,  and  you'll  be 
earning  something — then  go  to  school  a  term  or 
-/two,  and  by  that  time  you'll  be  qualified  to  teach 
a  district  school." 


48          BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"I'll  think  of  what  you  say,  cousin,"  said 
James,  thoughtfully.  "  I  don't  know  but  your 
advice  is  good." 

It  is  not  always  easy  to  say  what  circumstances 
have  most  influence  in  shaping  the  destiny  of  a 
boy,  but  it  seems  probable  that  the  conversation 
which  has  just  been  detailed,  and  the  discovery 
that  he  was  quite  equal  in  knowledge  to  a  man 
who  had  been  a  schoolmaster,  may  have  put  new 
ideas  into  the  boy's  head,  destined  to  bear  fruit 
later. 

For  the  present,  however,  his  duties  as  a  canal- 
boy  must  be  attended  to,  and  they  were  soon  to 
be  resumed. 

About  ten  o'clock  that  night,  when  James  was 
on  duty,  the  boat  approached  the  town  of  Akron, 
where  there  were  twenty-one  locks  to  be  success 
ively  passed  through. 

The  night  was  dark,  and,  though  the  bowman  of 
the  Evening  Star  did  not  see  it,  another  boat  had 
reached  the  same  lock  from  the  opposite  direction. 
Now  in  such  cases  the  old  rule,  "  first  come,  first 
served,"  properly  prevailed. 

The  bowman  had  directed  the  gates  to  be 
thrown  open,  in  order  th:tt  the  boat  might  enter 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  49 

the  lock,  when  a  voice  was  heard  through  the 
darkness,  "Hold  on,  there!  Our  boat  is  just 
round  the  bend,  ready  to  enter." 

"  We  have  as  much  right  as  you,"  said  the 
bowman. 

As  he  spoke  he  commenced  turning  the  gate. 

My  young  reader  will  understand  from  the  de 
scription  already  given  that  it  will  not  do  to  have 
both  lower  and  upper  gates  open  at  the  same 
time.  Of  course,  one  or  the  other  boat  must  wait. 

Both  bowmen  were  determined  to  be  first,  and 
neither  was  willing  to  yield.  Both  boats  were 
near  the  lock,  their  head-lights  shining  as  bright 
as  day,  and  the  spirit  of  antagonism  reached  and 
affected  the  crews  of  both. 

Captain  Letcher  felt  called  upon  to  interfere 
lest  there  should  be  serious  trouble. 

He  beckoned  to  his  bowman. 

"  Were  you  here  first  ?  "  he  asked. 

"It  is  hard  to  tell,"  answered  the  bowman, 
"  but  I'm  bound  to  have  the  lock,  anyhow." 

The  captain  was  not  wholly  unaffected  by  the 
spirit  of  antagonism  which  his  bowman  displayed. 

"  All  right ;  just  as  you  say,"  he  answeied,  and 
it  seemed  likely  that  conflict  was  inevitable. 
4 


50  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

James  Garfield  had  been  an  attentive  observer, 
and  an  attentive  listener  to  what  had  been  said. 
He  had  formed  his  own  ideas  of  what  was  right 
to  be  done. 

"  Look  here,  captain,"  he  said,  tapping  Captain 
Letcher  on  the  arm,  "does  this  lock  belong  to 
us?" 

"  I  really  suppose,  according  to  law,  it  does  not ; 
but  we  will  have  it,  anyhow." 

"  No,  we  will  not,"  replied  the  boy. 

"  And  why  not  ?  "  asked  the  captain,  naturally 
surprised  at  such  a  speech  from  his  young  driver. 

"  Because  it  does  not  belong  to  us." 

O 

The  captain  was  privately  of  opinion  that  the 
boy  was  right,  yet  but  for  his  remonstrance  he 
would  have  stood  out  against  the  claims  of  the 
rival  boat.  He  took  but  brief  time  for  consider 
ations,  and  announced  his  decision. 

"  Boys,"  he  said  to  his  men,  "  Jim  is  right.  Let 
them  have  the  lock." 

Of  course  there  was  no  more  trouble,  but  the 

bowman,  and  the  others  connected  with  the  Eve- 

\ning  Star,  were  angry.     It  irritated  them  to  be 

lobliged  to  give  up  the  point,  and  wait  -^ii^Mv 

uill  the  other  boat  had  passed  through  the  lock. 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  51 

The  steersman  was  George  Lee.  When  break 
fast  was  called,  he  sat  down  by  James. 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  you,  Jim  ?"  he  asked. 

"  Nothing  at  all." 

"  What  made  you  so  for  giving  up  the  lock  last 
night  ? " 

"  Because  it  wasn't  ours.  The  other  boat  had 
it  by  right." 

"Jim,  you  are  a  coward,''  said  Lee  contempt 
uously.  "You  aint  fit  for  a  boatman.  You'd 
better  go  back  to  the  farm  and  chop  wood  or  milk 
cows,  for  a  man  or  boy  isn't  fit  for  this  business 
that  isn't  ready  to  fight  for  his  rights." 

James  did  not  answer.  Probably  he  saw  thai 
it  would  be  of  no  use.  George  Lee  was  for  hw 
own  boat,  right  or  wrong  ;  but  James  had  already 
began  to  reflect  upon  the  immutable  principles  of 
right  or  wrong,  and  he  did  not  suffer  his  reason 
to  be  influenced  by  any  considerations  touching 
his  own  interests  or  his  own  pride. 

As  to  the  charge  of  cowardice  it  did  not  trouMe 

j  him  much.     On  a  suitable  occasion  later  on  (  re 

/    shall  tell  the  story  in  due  season)  he  showed  tha  he 

>w       was  willing  to  contend  for  his  right?,  wlicu   he 

V-Avas  satisfied  that  the  right  was  on  his  side. 


CHAPTEK  VI. 

JAMES   LEAVES    THE    CANAL. 

JAMES  was  not  long  to  fill  the  humble  position 
of  driver.  Before  the  close  of  the  first  trip  he 
was  promoted  to  the  more  responsible  office  of 
bowman.  Whether  his  wages  were  increased  we 
are  not  informed. 

It  may  be  well  in  this  place  to  mention  that  a 
canal-boat  required,  besides  the  captain,  two 
drivers,  two  steersmen,  a  bowman,  and  a  cook, 
the  last  perhaps  not  the  least  important  of  the 
seven.  "  The  bowman's  business  was  to  stop  the 
• ':  boat  as  it  entered  the  lock,  by  throwing  the  bow- 

^ 

line  that  was  attached  to  the  bow  of  the  boat 
j^ 
•  v'    around  the  snubbing  post."     It  was  to  this  posi- 

that  James  was  promoted,  though  I   have 
x  some  doubt  whether  the  place  of  driver,  with  the 
opportunities  it  afforded   of  riding  on  horse  or 
mule-back,  did  not  suit  him  better.     Still,  promo 
tion  is  always  pleasant,  and  in  this  case  it  showed 
(52) 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  53 

that  the  boy  had  discharged  his  humbler  duties 
satisfactorily. 

I  have  said  that  the  time  came  when  James 
showed  that  he  was  not  a  coward.  Edmund 
Kirke,  in  his  admirable  life  of  Garfield,  has  con 
densed  the  captain's  account  of  the  occurrence, 
and  I  quote  it  here  as  likely  to  prove  interesting 
to  my  boy  readers  : 

"  The  Evening  Star  was  at  Beaver,  and  a  steam 
boat  was  ready  to  tow  her  up  to  Pittsburg.  The 
boy  was  standing  on  deck  with  the  selting-pole 
against  his  shoulders,  and  some  feet  away  stood 
Murphy,  one  of  the  boat  hands,  a  big,  burly  fellow 
of  thirty-five,  when  the  steamboat  threw  the  line, 
and,  owing  to  a  sudden  lurch  of  the  boat,  it 
whirled  over  the  boy's  head,  and  flew  in  the 
direction  of  the  boatman.  '  Look  out,  Murphy  ! ' 
cried  the  boy;  but  the  rope  had  anticipated  him, 
and  knocked  Murphy's  hat  off  into  the  river. 
The  boy  expressed  his  regret,  but  it  was  of  no 
avail.  In  a  towering  rage  the  man  rushed  upon 
him,  with  his  head  down,  like  a  maddened  animal ; 
but,  stepping  nimbly  aside,  the  boy  dealt  him  a 
powerful  blow  behind  the  ear,  and  he  tumbled  to 
the  bottom  of  the  boat  among  the  copper  ore. 


54          BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

Before  he  could  rise  the  boy  was  upon  him,  one 
hand  upon  his  throat,  the  other  raised  for  another 
blow  upon  his  frontispiece. 

"  '  Pound  the  cussed  fool,  Jim  ! '  cried  Captain 
Letcher,  who  was  looking  on  appreciatingly.  '  If 
he  haint  no  more  sense  'n  to  get  mad  at  accidents, 
giv  it  ter  him  !  Why  don't  you  strike  ? ' 

"  But  the  boy  did  not  strike,  for  the  _maii_was 
down  and  in  his  power.  Murphy  expressed  regret 
for  his  rage,  and  then  Garfield  gave  him  hisjiand, 
and  they  became  better  friends  than  ever  before. 
This  victory  of  a  boy  of  sixteen  over  a  man  of 
thirty-live  obliterated  the  notion  of  young  Gar- 
field's  character  for  cowardice,  and  gave  him  a 
great  reputation  among  his  associates.  The  inci 
dent  is  still  well  remembered  among;  the  boatmen 

O 

r,  '  of  the  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  Canal ." 

The  boy's  speedy  reconciliation  to  the  man  who 
had  made  so  unprovoked  an  assault  upon  him  was 
characteristic  of  his  nature.  He  never  could 
cherish  malice,  and  it  was  very  hard  work  for  him 
to  remain  angry  with  any  one,  however  great  the 
provocation. 

Both  as  a  boy  and  as  a  man  he  possessed  great 
physical  strength,  as  may  be  inferrer"!  from  an 


JAMES  A.   GARF1ELD.  55 

incident  told  by  the  Boston  Journal  of  his  life 
when  he  was  no  longer  the  humble  canal-boy,  but 
a  brigadier-general  in  the  army  : 

"At  Pittsburg  Landing  one  night  in  1862 
there  was  a  rush  for  rations  by  some  newly- 
arrived  troops.  One  strong,  fine-looking  soldier 
presented  a  requisition  for  a  barrel  of  flour,  and, 
shouldering  it,  walked  off  with  case.  When  the 
wagon  was  loaded,  this  same  man  stepped  up  to 
Colonel  Morton,  commanding  the  commissary 
steamers  there,  and  remarked,  '  I  suppose  you 
require  a  receipt  for  these  supplies  ? '  '  Yes,'  said 
the  Colonel,  as  he  handed  over  the  usual  blank ; 
'just  take  this  provision  return,  and  have  it 
signed  by  your  commanding  officer.'  '  Can't  I 
sign  it  ? '  was  the  reply.  '  Oh,  no,'  said  the  affa 
ble  Colonel  Morton ;  '  it  requires  the  signature  of 
a  commissioned  officer.'  Then  came  the  remark, 
that  still  remains  fresh  in  the  Colonel's  memory : 
4 1  am  a  commissioned  officer — I'm  a  brigadier- 
general,  and  nay  name  is  Garfield,  of  Ohio.' " 

For  four  months  James  remained  connected 
with  the  canal-boat.  To  show  that  traveling  by 
canal  is  not  so  free  from  danger  as  it  is  supposed 
to  be,  it  may  be  stated  that  in  this  short  time  he 


56          BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

fell  into  the  water  fourteen  times.  Usually  he 
scrambled  out  without  further  harm  than  a  good 
wetting.  One  night,  however,  he  was  in  serious 
pain. 

It  was  midnight,  and  rainy,  when  he  was  called 
up  to  take  his  turn  at  the  bow.  The  boat  was 
leaving  one  of  those  long  reaches  of  slack-water 
which  abound  in  the  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania 
Canal.  He  tumbled  out  of  bed  in  a  hurry,  but 
half  awake,  and,  taking  his  stand  on  the  narrow 
platform  below  the  bow-deck,  he  began  uncoiling 
a  rope  to  steady  the  boat  through  a  lock  it  was  ap 
proaching.  Finally  it  knotted,  and  caught  in  a 
narrow  cleft  on  the  edge  of  the  deck.  lie  gave 
it  a  strong  pull,  then  another,  till  it  gave  way, 
sending  him  over  the  bow  into  the  water.  Down 
he  went  in  the  dark  river,  and,  rising,  was  be 
wildered  amid  the  intense  darkness.  It  seemed 
as  if  the  boy's  brief  career  was  at  its  close.  But 
he  was  saved  as  by  a  miracle.  Reaching  out  his 
hand  in  the  darkness,  it  came  in  contact  with  the 
rope.  Holding  firmly  to  it  as  it  tightened  in  his 
grasp,  he  used  his  strong  arms  to  draw  himself 
up  hand  over  hand.  His  deliverance  was  due  to 
a  knot  in  the  rope  catching  in  a  crevice,  thus,  as 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  57 

it  tightened,  sustaining  him  and  enabling  him  to 
climb  on  deck. 

It  was  a  narrow  escape,  and  he  felt  it  to  be  so. 
lie  was  a  thoughtful  boy,  and  it  impressed  him. 
The  chances  had  been  strongly  against  him,  yet 
he  had  been  saved. 

u  God  did  it,"  thought  James  reverently  ;  "  He 
has  saved  my  life  against  large  odds,  and  He  must 
have  saved  it  for  some  purpose.  He  has  some 
work  for  me  to  do." 

Few  boys  at  his  age  would  have  taken  the  mat 
ter  so  seriously,  yet  in  the  light  of  after  events 
shall  we  not  say  that  James  was  right,  and  that 
God  did  have  some  work  for  him  to  perform  ? 

This  work,  the  boy  decided,  was  not  likely  to 
be  the  one  he  was  at  present  engaged  in.  The 
work  of  a  driver  or  a  bowman  on  a  canal  is  doubt 
less  useful  in  its  way,  but  James  doubted  whether 
he  would  be  providentially  set  apart  for  any  such 
business. 

It  might  have  been  this  deliverance  that  turned 
his  attention  to  religious  matters.  At  any  rate, 
hearing  that  at  Bedford  there  was  a  series  of  pro 
tracted  meetings  conducted  by  the  Disciples,  as 
they  were  called,  he  made  a  trip  there,  and  be- 


58          BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

came  seriously  impressed.  There,  too,  he  met  a 
gentleman  who  was  destined  to  exert  an  impor 
tant  influence  over  his  destiny. 

This  gentleman  was  Dr.  J.  P.  Robinson,  who 
may  be  still  living.  Dr.  Robinson  took  a  great 
liking  to  the  boy,  and  sought  to  be  of  service  to 
him.  He  employed  him,  though  it  may  have 
been  at  a  later  period,  to  chop  wood,  and  take 
care  of  his  garden,  and  do  chores  about  the 
house,  and  years  afterward,  as  we  shall  see,  it  was 
he  that  enabled  James  to  enter  Williams  College, 
and  pursue  his  studies  there  until  he  graduated, 
PV  and  was  ready  to  do  the  work  of  an  educated 
\\  man  in  the  world.  But  we  must  not  anticipate. 

Though  James  was  strong  and  healthy  he  was 
not  proof  against  the  disease  that  lurked  in  the 
low  lands  bordering  on  the  canal.  He  wTas  at 
tacked  by  fever  and  ague,  and  lay  for  some 
months  sick  at  home.  It.  was  probaKLz~tlia.^iily 
long^ickness  he  had  till  the  fatal  wound  which 
laid  hi  nioii  his  bed  wRen^.in  -the  Dullness  of  his 
fame  he  had  taken  his  place  among  kings  and 
rulers.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  he  had  every  "at 
tention  that  a  tender  mother  could  bestow,  and  in 
time  he  was  restored  to  health. 


JAMES  A.    OARFIELD.  59 

During  his  sickness  he  had  many  talks  with  his 
mother  upon  his  future  prospects,  and  the  course 
of  life  upon  which  it  was  best  for  him  to  enter. 
He  had  not  yet  given  up  all  thoughts  of  the  sea. 
He  had  not  forgotten  the  charms  with  which  a  sail 
or's  life  is  invested  in  Marryatt's  fascinating  novels. 
His  mother  listened  anxiously  to  his  dreams  of 
happiness  on  the-  sea,  and  strove  to  fix  his  mind 
upon  higher  things — to  inspire  him  with  a  nobler 
ambition. 

"What  would  you  have  me  do,  mother?"  he 
asked. 

"  If  you  go  back  to  the  canal,  my  son,  with  the 
seeds  of  this  disease  lurking  in  your  system,  I 
fear  you  will  be  taken  down  again.  I  have 
thought  it  over.  It  seems  to  me  you  had  better 
go  to  school  this  spring,  and  then,  with  a  term  in 
the  fall,  you  may  be  able  to  teach  in  the  winter. 
If  you  teach  winters,  and  work  on  the  canal  or 
lake  summers,  you  will  have  employment  the  year 
round." 

Nevertheless  Mrs.  Garfield  was  probably  not  in 
favor  of  his  spending  his  summers  in  the  way  in 
dicated.  She  felt,  however,  that  her  son,  who 
wae  a  boy  like  other  boys,  must  be  gradually 


gO  JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 

weaned  from  the  dreams  that  had  bewitched  his 
fancy. 

Then  his  mother  proposed  a  practical  plan. 

"  You  have  been  obliged  to  spend  all  your 
money,"  she  said,  "  but  your  brother  Thomas  and 
I  will  be  able  to  raise  seventeen  dollars  for  you  to 
start  to  school  on,  and  when  that  is  gone  perhaps 
you  will  be  able  to  get  along  on  your  own  re- 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    CHOICE    OF    A    VOCATION. 

JAMES  GAKFIELD'S  experience  on  the  canal  was 
over.  The  position  was  such  an  humble  one  that 
it  did  not  seem  likely  to  be  of  any  service  in  the 
larger  career  which  one  day  was  to  open  before 
him.  But  years  afterward,  when  as  a  brigadier- 
general  of  volunteers  he  made  an  expedition  into 
Eastern  Kentucky,  he  realized  advantage  from 
his  four  months'  experience  on  the  canal.  His 
command  had  run  short  of  provisions,  and  a  boat 
had  been  sent  for  supplies,  but  the  river  beside 
which  the  men  were  encamped  had  risen  so  high 
that  the  boat  dared  not  attempt  to  go  up  the  river. 
Then  General  Garfield,  calling  to  his  aid  the  skill 
with  which  he  had  guided  the  Evening  Star  at 
the  age  of  iifteen,  took  command  of  the  craft, 
stood  at  the  wheel  forty-four  hours  out  of  the 
forty-eight,  and  brought  the  supplies  to  his  men  at 

a  time  when  they  were  eating  their  last  crackers. 

(61) 


02  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

"  Seek  all  knowledge,  however  trifling,"  says 
an  eminent  author,  "  and  there  will  come  a  time 
when  you  can  make  use  of  it." 

James  may  never  have  read  this  remark,  but 
he  was  continually  acting  upon  it,  and  the  spare 
moments  which  others  devoted  to  recreation  he 
used  in  adding  to  his  stock  of  general  knowledge. 

The  last  chapter  closes  writh  Mrs.  Garfield's  ad 
vice  to  Jarnes  to  give  up  his  plan  of  going  to  sea, 
and  to  commence  and  carry  forward  a  course  of 
education  which  should  qualify  him  for  a  college 
professor,  or  a  professional  career.  Her  words 
made  some  impression  upon  his  mind,  but  it  is  not 
always  easy  to  displace  cherished  dreams.  AVhile 
she  was  talking,  a  knock  was  heard  at  the  door, 
and  Mrs.  Gariield,  leaving  her  place  at  her  son's 
bedside,  rose  and  opened  it. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you,  Mr.  Bates,"  she  said 
with  a  welcoming  smile. 

Samuel  D.  Bates  was  the  teacher  of  the  school 
near  by,  an  earnest  young  man,  of  exemplary 
habits,  who  was  looking  to  the  ministry  as  his 
chosen  vocation. 

"  And  how  is  James  to-day  ? "  asked  the 
teacher,  glancing  toward  the  bed. 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  63 

% 

"  So  well  that  he  is  already  beginning  to  make 
plans  for  the  future,"  answered  his  mother. 

"  What  are  your  plans,  James  ? "  asked  the 
young  man. 

"  I  should  like  best  to  go  to  sea,"  said  James, 
"  but  mother  doesn't  approve  of  it." 

"She  is  wise,"  said  Bates,  promptly.  "You 
would  find  it  a  great  disappointment." 

t(  But,  it  must  be  delightful  to  skim  over  the 
waters,  and  visit  countries  far  away,''  said  the 
boy,  his  cheeks  flushing,  and  his  eyes  glowing 
with  enthusiasm. 

"  You  think  so  now ;  but  remember,  you  would 
be  a  poor,  ignorant  sailor,  and  would  have  to  stay 
by  the  ship  instead  of  exploring  the  wonderful 
cities  at  which  the  ship  touched.  Of  course,  you 
would  have  an  occasional  run  on  shore,  but  you 
^  could  not  shake  off  the  degrading  associations 
with  which  your  life  on  shipboard  would  sur- 
round  you." 

""Why  should  a  sailor's  life  be  degrading?" 
cd  James. 

"  It  need  not  be  necessarily,  but  as  a  matter  of 
most  sailors  have  low  aims  and  are  addicted 
bad  habits.  Better  wait  till  you  can  go  to  sea 


(54  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

as  a  passenger,  and  enjoy  to  the  full  the  beneiits 
of  foreign  travel." 

"  There  is  something  in  that,"  said  James, 
thoughtfully.  "  If  I  could  only  be  sure  of  going 
some  day." 

"  Wouldn't  it  be  pleasant  to  go  as  a  man  of 
culture,  as  a  college  professor,  as  a  minister,  or  as 
a  lawyer,  able  to  meet  on  equal  terms  foreign 
scholars  and  gentlemen?" 

This  was  a  new  way  of  putting  it,  and  pro 
duced  a  favorable  impression  on  the  boy's  mind. 
Still,  the  boy  had  doub|s,  and  expressed  them 
freely. 

"  That  sounds  well,"  he  said  ;  "  but  how  am  I 
to  know  that  I  have  brain  enough  to  make  a  col 
lege  professor,  or  a  minister,  or  a  lawyer?" 

"  I  don't  think  there  is  much  doubt  on  that 
point,"  said  Bates,  noting  the  bright,  expressive 
face,  and  luminous  eyes  of  the  sick  boy.  "  I 
should  be  willing  to  guarantee  your  capacity. 
Don't  you  think  yourself  fit  for  anything  better 
than  a  common  sailor  ?  " 

"Yes,"  answered  James.  "I  think  I  could 
make  a  good  carpenter,  for  I  know  something 
about  that  trade  already,  and  I  daresay  I  vi'ould 


JAMES  A.    GAIiFIELD.  (55 

make  a  good  trader  if  I  could  find  an  opening  to 
learn  the  business ;  but  it  takes  a  superior  man  to 
succeed  in  the  positions  you  mention." 

"  There  are  plenty  of  men  with  only  average 
ability  who  get  along  very  creditably ;  but  I  ad 
vise  you,  if  you  make  up  your  mind  to  enter  the 
lists,  to  try  for  a  high  place." 

The  boy's  eyes  sparkled  with  new  ambition. 
It  was  a  favorite  idea  with  him  afterward,  that 
every  man  ought  to  feel  an  honorable  ambition 
to  succeed  as  well  as  possible  in  his  chosen  path. 

u  One  thing  more,"  added  Bates.  "  I  don't 
think  you  have  any  right  to  become  a  sailor." 

"No  right?  Oh,  you  mean  because  mother 
objects.5' 

"  That,  certainly,  ought  to  weigh  with  you  as  a 
good  son  ;  but  I  referred  to  something  else." 

"What  then?" 

"Do  you  remember  the  parable  of  the  tal 
ents  ? " 

James  had  been  brought  up  by  his  mother, 
who  was  a  devoted  religious  woman,  to  read  the 
Bible,  and  he  answered  in  the  affirmative. 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  you  are  responsible  for 
he  talents  which  God  has  bestowed  upon  you. 
5 


6(3  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

If  you  Lave  the  ability  or  the  brain,  as  you  call  it, 
to  insure  success  in  a  literary  career,  don't  you 
think  you  would  throw  yourself  away  if  you  be 
came  a  sailor  ? " 

Mrs.  Garfield,  who  had  listened  with  deep 
interest  to  the  remarks  of  the  young  man,  re 
garded  James  anxiously,  to  see  what  effect  these 
arguments  were  having  upon  him.  She  did  not 
fear  disobedience.  She  knew  that  if  she  should 
make  it  a  personal  request,  James  was  dutiful 
enough  to  follow  her  washes ;  but  she  respected 
the  personal  independence  of  her  children,  and 
wanted  to  convince,  rather  than  to  coerce, 
them. 

"  If  I  knew  positively  that  you  were  right  in 
your  estimate  of  me,  Mr.  Bates,  I  would  go  in  for 
a  course  of  study." 

"  Consult  some  one  in  whose  judgment  you 
have  confidence,  James,"  said  the  teacher, 
promptly. 

"  Can  you  suggest  any  one  ? "  asked  the  boy. 

"Yes;  Dr.  J.  P.  Eobinson,  of  Bedford,  is 
visiting  at  the  house  of  President  Hayden,  of 
Hiram  College.  You  have  heard  of  him  ? " 

"Yes." 


JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD.  (57 

"  lie  is  a  man  of  ripe  judgment,  and  you  can 
rely  implicitly  on  what  he  says." 

"  As  soon  as  I  am  well  enough  I  will  do  as  you 
advise,"  said  James. 

"  Then  I  am  satisfied.  I  am  sure  the  doctor 
will  confirm  my  advice." 

"Mr.  Bates,"  said  Mrs.  Garfield,  as  she  fol 
lowed  out  the  young  teacher,  "  I  am  much 
indebted  to  you  for  your  advice  to  James.  It  is 
in  accordance  with  my  wishes.  If  he  should 
decide  to  obtain  an  education,  where  would  you 
advise  him  to  go  ? " 

"  To  the  seminary  where  I  have  obtained  all 
the  education  I  possess,"  answered  the  young 
man. 

"  Where  is  it  ? " 

"  It  is  called  the  '  Geauga  Seminary,3  and  is 
located  in  Chester,  in  the  next  county.  For  a 
time  it  will  be  sufficient  to  meet  all  James'  needs. 
When  he  is  further  advanced  he  can  go  to  Hiram 
College." 

"Is  it  expensive?"  asked  Mrs.  Garfield. 
"  James  has  no  money  except  the  few  dollars  his 
brother  and  I  can  spare  him." 

"  He  will  have  plenty  of  company.     Most  of 


(5g  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

the  students  are  poor,  but  there  are  chances  of 
finding  work  in  the  neighborhood,  and  so  earning 
a  little  money.  James  knows  something  of  the 
carpenter's  trade  ? " 

"  Yes,  he  helped  build  the  house  we  live  in,  and 
he  has  been  employed  on  several  barns." 

My  readers  will  remember  that  the  Garfields 
no  longer  lived  in  the  humble  log-cabin  in  which 
we  first  found  them.  The  money  Thomas 
brought  home  from  Michigan,  supplemented  by 
the  labor  of  James  and  himself,  had  replaced  it 
by  a  neat  frame  house,  which  was  much  more 
comfortable  and  sightly. 

"  That  will  do.  I  think  I  know  a  man  who 
will  give  him  employment." 

"  He  is  a  boy  of  energy.  If  he  gets  fairly 
started  at  school,  I  think  he  will  maintain  himself 
there,"  said  Mrs.  Garfield. 

The  teacher  took  his  leave. 

When  Mrs.  Garfield  re-entered  the  room  she 
found  James  looking  very  thoughtful. 

" Mother,"  he  said,  abruptly,  "I  want  to  get 
well  as  quick  as  I  can.  I  am  sixteen  years  old, 
and  it  is  time  I  decided  what  to  do  with  my 
self." 


JAMES  A.    GAEFIELD.  (59 

"  You  will  think  of  what  Mr.  Bates  has  said, 
will  you  not  ? " 

"  Yes,  mother;  as  soon  as  I  am  well  enough  I 
will  call  on  Dr.  Robinson  and  ask  his  candid 
opinion.  I  will  be  guided  by  what  he  says." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

GEAUGA    SEMINARY. 

I  HAVE  stated  in  a  previous  chapter  that  James 
became  acquainted  with  Dr.  Robinson  while  still 
employed  on  the  canal.  This  statement  was  made 
on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Philo  Chamberlain,  of 
Cleveland,  who  was  part  proprietor  of  the  line  of 
canal-boats  on  which  the  boy  was  employed.  Ed 
mund  Kirke,  however,  conveys  tbe  impression 
that  Jarnes  was  a  stranger  to  the  doctor  at  the 
time  he  called  upon  him  after  his  sickness.  Mr. 
Kirke' s  information  having  been  derived  chiefly 
from  General  Garfield  himself,  I  shall  adopt  his 
version,  as  confirmed  by  Dr.  Robinson. 

"When  James  walked  up  to  the  residence  of 
President  Hayden,  and  inquired  for  Dr.  Robin 
son,  he  was  decidedly  homespun  in  appearance. 
He  probably  was  dressed  in  his  best,  but  his  best 
was  shabby  enough.  His  trowsers  were  of  coarse 

satinet,  and  might  have  fitted  him  a  season  or  two 
(70) 


JAMES  A.   G  Alt  FIELD.  71 

before,  but  now  were  far  outgrown,  reaching  only 
half  way  down  to  the  tops  of  his  cowhide  boots. 
His  waistcoat  also  was  much  too  short,  and  his  coat 
was  threadbare,  the  sleeves  being  so  short  as  to 
display  a  considerable  portion  of  his  arms.  Add 
to  these  a  coarse  slouched  hat,  much  the  worse  for 
wear,  and  a  heavy  mass  of  yellow  hair  much  too 
long,  and  we  can  easily  understand  what  the  good 
doctor  said  of  him  :  "  He  was  wonderfully  awk 
ward,  but  had  a  sort  of  independent,  go-as-you- 
please  manner  that  impressed  me  favorably." 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  asked  the  doctor. 

"  My  name  is  James  Garfield,  from  Solon." 

"  Oh,  I  know  your  mother,  and  knew  you  when 
you  were  a  babe,  but  you  have  outgrown  my 
knowledge.  I  am  glad  to  see  you." 

"  I  should  like  to  see  you  alone,''  said  James. 

The  doctor  led  the  way  to  a  secluded  spot  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  house,  and  then,  sitting 
down  on  a  log,  the  youth,  after  a  little  hesitation, 
opened  his  business. 

"  You  are  a  physician,"  he  said,  "  and  know  the 
fiber  that  is  in  men.  Examine  me  and  tell  me 
with  the  utmost  frankness  whether  I  had  better 
take  a  course  of  liberal  study.  I  am  contem- 


72  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

plating  doing  so,  as  my  desire  is  in  that  direction. 
But  if  I  am  to  make  a  failure  of  it,  or  practically 
so,  I  do  not  desire  to  begin.  If  you  advise  me 
not  to  do  so  I  shall  be  content." 

In  speaking  of  this  incident  the  doctor  has  re 
marked  recently :  a  I  felt  that  I  was  on  my  sacred 
honor,  and  the  young  man  looked  as  though  he  felt 
himself  on  trial.  1  had  had  considerable  experi 
ence  as  a  physician,  but  here  was  a  case  much  dif 
ferent  from  any  I  had  ever  had.  I  felt  that  it 
must  be  handled  with  great  care.  I  examined 
his  head  and  saw  that  there  wras  a  magnificent 
brain  there.  I  sounded  his  lungs,  and  found  that 
they  were  strong,  and  capable  of  making  good 
blood.  I  felt  his  pulse,  and  felt  that  there  was  an 
engine  capable  of  sending  the  blood  up  to  the 
head  to  feed  the  brain.  I  had  seen  many  strong 
physical  systems  with  warm  feet  and  cold,  slug 
gish  brain  ;  and  those  who  possessed  such  systems 
would  simply  sit  round  and  doze.  Therefore  I 
was  anxious  to  know  about  the  kind  of  an  engine  to 
run  that  delicate  machine,  the  brain.  At  the  end 
of  a  fifteen  minutes'  careful  examination  of  this 
kind,  we  rose,  and  I  said : 

" '  Go  on,  follow  the  leadings  of  your  ambition, 


JAMES  A.    OARFIELD.  73 

and  ever  after  I  am  your  friend.  You  have  the 
brain  of  a  Webster,  and  you  have  the  physical 
proportions  that  will  back  you  in  the  most  hercu 
lean  efforts.  All  you  need  to  do  is  to  work  ;  work 
hard,  do  not  be  afraid  of  over-working  and  you 
will  make  your  mark.' ': 

It  will  be  easily  understood  that  these  words 
from  a  man  whom  he  held  in  high  respect  were 
enough  to  fix  the  resolution  of  James.  If  he  were 
really  so  well  fitted  for  the  work  and  the  career 
which  his  mother  desired  him  to  follow,  it  was 
surely  his  duty  to  make  use  of  the  talents  which 
he  had  just  discovered  were  his. 

After  that  there  was  no  more  question  about 
going  to  sea.  lie  deliberately  decided  to  become 
a  scholar,  and  then  follow  where  Providence  led 
the  way. 

He  would  have  liked  a  new  suit  of  clothes,  but 
this  was  out  of  the  question.  All  the  money  he 
had  at  command  was  the  seventeen  dollars  which 
his  mother  had  offered  him.  He  must  get  along 
with  this  sum,  and  so  with  hopeful  heart  he  set 
out  for  Geauga  Seminary. 

He  did  not  go  alone.  On  hearing  of  his  deter 
mination,  two  boys,  one  a  cousin,  made  up  their 
minds  to  accompany  him. 


74  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD    OF 

Possibly  my  young  readers  may  imagine  the 
scene  of  leave-taking,  as  the  stage  drove  up  to  the 
door,  and  the  boys  with  their  trunks  or  valises 
were  taken  on  board,  but  if  so,  imagination  would 
picture  a  scene  far  different  from  the  reality. 
Their  outfit  was  of  quite  a  different  kind. 

For  the  sake  of  economy  the  boys  were  to 
board  themselves,  and  Mrs.  Gar  field  with  provi 
dent  heart  supplied  James  with  a  frying-pan,  and 
a  few  necessary  dishes,  so  that  his  body  might  not 
suffer  while  his  mind  was  being  fed.  Such  was 
the  luxury  that  awaited  James  in  his  new  home. 
I  am  afraid  that  the  hearts  of  many  of  my  young 
readers  would  sink  within  them  if  they  thought 
that  they  must  buy  an  education  at  such  a  cost  as 
that.  But  let  them  not  forget  that  this  homespun 
boy,  with  his  poor  array  of  frying-pan  and  dishes, 
was  years  after  to  strive  in  legislative  halls,  and 
win  the  highest  post  in  the  gift  of  his  fellow-citi 
zens.  And  none  of  these  things  would  have  been 
his,  in  all  likelihood,  but  for  his  early  struggle 
with  poverty. 

So  far  as  I  know,  neither  of  his  companions 
was  any  better  off  than  James.  All  three  were 
young  adventurers  traveling  into  the  domains  of 


JAMES  A.   GARF1ELD.  75 

science  with  hopeful  hearts  and  fresh  courage,  not 
altogether  ignorant  of  the  hardships  that  awaited 
them,  but  prepared  to  work  hard  for  the  prizes 
of  knowledge. 

Arrived  at  Geauga  Seminary,  they  called  upon 
the  principal  and  announced  for  what  purpose 
they  had  come. 

"  Well,  young  men,  I  hope  you  mean  to  work  ? " 
he  said. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  answered  James  promptly.  "I  am 
poor,  and  I  want  to  get  an  education  as  quick  as 
I  can." 

u  I  like  your  sentiments,  and  I  will  help  you  as 
far  as  I  can." 

The  boys  succeeded  in  hiring  a  room  in  an  old 
unpainted  building  near  the  academy  for  a  small 
weekly  sum.  It  was  unfurnished,  but  they  suc 
ceeded  in  borrowing  a  few  dilapidated  chairs  from 
a  neighbor  who  did  not  require  them,  and  some 
straw  ticks,  which  they  spread  upon  the  floor  for 
sleeping  purposes.  In  one  corner  they  stowed 
tVieir  frying-pans,  kettles,  and  dishes,  and  thus 
they  set  up  housekeeping  in  humble  style. 

The  Geauga  Seminary  was  a  Freewill  Baptist 
institution,  and  was  attended  by  a  considerable 


76  BOYHOOD  AND    MANHOOD   OF 

number  of  students,  to  whom  it  did  not,  indeed, 
furnish  what  is  called  "the  higher  education," 
hut  it  was  a  considerable  advance  upon  any  school 
that  James  had  hitherto  attended.  English 
grammar,  natural  philosophy,  arithmetic,  and 
algebra — these  were  the  principal  studies  to 
which  James  devoted  himself,  and  they  opened 
to  him  new  fields  of  thought.  Probably  it  was  at 
this  humble  seminary  that  he  first  acquired  the 
thirst  for  learning  that  ever  afterward  character 
ized  him. 

Let  us  look  in  upon  the  three  boys  a  night  or 
two  after  they  have  commenced  housekeeping. 

They  take  turns  in  cooking,  and  this  time  it  is 
the  turn  of  the  one  in  whom  we  feel  the  strongest 
interest. 

"What  have  we  got  for  supper,  boys?"  he 
asks,  for  the  procuring  of  supplies  has  fallen  to 
them. 

"  Here  are  a  dozen  eggs,"  said  Henry  Boynton, 
his  cousin. 

"  And  here  is  a  loaf  of  bread,  which  I  got  at 
the  baker's,"  said  his  friend. 

"  That's  good !  We'll  have  bread  and  fried 
eggs.  There  is  nothing  better  than  that." 


JAMES  A.   GABF1ELD.  77 

"  Eggs  have  gone  up  a  cent  a  dozen,"  remarks 
Henry,  gravely. 

This  news  is  received  seriously,  for  a  cent 
means  something  to  them.  Probably  even  then 
the  price  was  not  greater  than  six  to  eight  cents 
a  dozen,  for  prices  were  low  in  the  West  at  that 
time. 

"  Then  we  can't  have  them  so  often,"  said 
James,  philosophically,  "  unless  we  get  something 
to  do." 

"  There's  a  carpenter's-shop  a  little  way  down 
the  street,"  said  Henry.  "  I  guess  you  can  find 
employment  there." 

"  I'll  go  round  there  after  supper." 

Meanwhile  he  attended  to  his  duty  as  cook,  and 
in  due  time  each  of  the  boys  was  supplied  with 
four  fried  eggs  and  as  much  bread  as  he  cared  for. 
Probably  butter  was  dispensed  with,  as  too  costly 
a  luxury,  until  more  prosperous  times. 

When  supper  was  over  the  boys  took  a  walk, 
and  then,  returning  to  their  humble  room,  spent 
the  evening  in  preparing  their  next  morning's 
lessons. 

In  them  James  soon  took  leading  rank,  for  his 
brain  was  larger,  and  his  powers  of  application 


78  JAMES  A.    GABFIELD. 

and  intuition  great,  as  Dr.  Eobinson  had  implied. 
From  the  time  he  entered  Geanga  Seminary 
probably  he  never  seriously  doubted  that  he  had 
entered  upon  the  right  path. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

WAYS    AND   MEANS. 

JAMES  called  on  the  carpenter  after  supper  and 
inquired  if  he  could  supply  him  with  work. 

"  I  may  be  able  to  if  you  are  competent," 
was  the  reply.  "  Have  you  ever  worked  at  the 
business  ? " 

"  Yes." 

"Where?" 

"  At  Orange,  where  my  home  is." 

"  How  long  did  you  work  at  it  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  I  had  better  tell  you  what  I  have 
done,"  said  James. 

He  then  gave  an  account  of  the  barns  he  had 
been  employed  upon,  and  the  frame  house 
which  he  had  assisted  to  build  for  his  mother. 

"  1  don't  set  up  for  a  first-class  workman,"  he 
added,  with  a  smile,  "  but  I  think  I  can  be  of 
some  use  to  you." 

"  I  will  try  you,  for  I  am  rather  pressed  with 
work  just  now." 

(79) 


80          BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

So,  in  a  day  or  two  James  was  set  to  work. 

The  carpenter  found  that  it  was  as  he  had 
represented.  He  was  not  a  first-class  workman. 
Indeed,  he  had  only  a  rudimentary  knowledge  of 
the  trade,  but  he  was  quick  to  learn,  and  in  a 
short  time  he  was  able  to  help  in  many  ways. 
His  wages  were  not  very  large,  but  they  were 
satisfactory,  since  they  enabled  him  to  pay  his 
expenses  and  keep  his  head  above  water.  Before 
the  seventeen  dollars  were  exhausted,  he  had 
earned  quite  a  sum  by  his  labor  in  the  carpenter' s- 
shop. 

About  this  time  he  received  a  letter  from  his 
brother. 

"  Dear  James,"  he  wrote,  "  I  shall  be  glad  to 
hear  how  you  are  getting  along.  You  took  so 
little  money  with  you  that  you  may  need  more. 
If  so,  let  me  know,  and  I  will  try  to  send  you 
some." 

James  answered  promptly :  "  Don't  feel 
anxious  about  me,  Thomas.  I  have  been  for 
tunate  enough  to  secure  work  at  a  carpenter's- 
shop,  and  my  expenses  of  living  are  very  small. 
I  intend  not  to  call  upon  you  or  mother  again, 
but  to  pay  my  own  way,  if  I  keep  my  health." 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  gj 

He  kept  his  word,  and  from  that  time  did  not 
find  it  necessary  to  call  either  upon  his  mother  or 
his  good  brother,  who  was  prepared  to  make  per 
sonal  sacrifices,  as  he  had  been  doing  all  his  life, 
that  his  younger  brother  might  enjoy  advantages 
which  he  had  to  do  without. 

At  length  the  summer  vacation  came.  James 
had  worked  hard  and  won  high  rank  in  his  re 
spective  studies.  He  had  a  robust  frame,  and  he 
seemed  never  to  get  tired.  No  doubt  he  took 
especial  interest  in  composition  and  the  exercises 
of  the  debating  society  which  flourished  at 
Geauga,  as  at  most  seminaries  of  advanced  educa 
tion.  In  after-life  he  was  so  ready  and  powerful 
in  debate,  that  we  can  readily  understand  that  ho 
must  have  begun  early  to  try  his  powers.  Many 
a  trained  speaker  has  first  come  to  a  consciousness 
of  his  strength  in  a  lyceuin  of  boys,  pitted  against 
some  school-fellow  of  equal  attainments.  No 
doubt  many  crude  and  some  ludicrous  speeches 
are  made  by  boys  in  their  teens,  but  at  least  they 
leam  to  think  on  their  feet,  and  acquire  the 
ability  to  stand  the  gaze  of  an  audience  without 
discomposure.  A  certain  easy  facility  of  ex 
pression  also  is  gained,  which  enables  them  to, 


82  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

acquit  themselves  creditably  on  a  more  important 
stage. 

James  early  learned  that  the  best  preparation 
for  a  good  speech  is  a  thorough  familiarity  with 
the  subject,  and  in  his  after-life  he  always  care 
fully  prepared  himself,  so  that  he  was  a  forcible 
debater,  whom  it  was  not  easy  to  meet  and 
conquer. 

"  He  once  told  me  how  he  prepared  his 
speeches,"  said  Representative  Williams,  of  Wis 
consin,  since  his  death.  "  First  he  filled  himself 
with  the  subject,  massing  all  the  facts  and 
principles  involved,  so  far  as  he  could ;  then  he 
took  pen  and  paper  and  wrote  down  the  salient 
points  in  what  he  regarded  their  logical  order. 
Then  he  scanned  these  critically,  and  fixed  them 
in  his  memory.  <  And  then,'  said  he,  ;  I  leave 
the  paper  in  my  room  and  trust  to  the  emer 
gency.'  " 

When  the  vacation  came  James  began  to  look 
about  for  work.  He  could  not  afford  to  be  idle. 
Moreover,  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  earn  enough 
that  he  might  not  go  back  empty-handed  in  the 
fall. 

Generally  work  comes  to   him  who  earnestly 


JAMES  A.   GARF1ELD.  g3 

seeks  it,  and  James  heard  of  a  inan  who  wanted 
some  wood  cut. 

He  waited  upon  this  man  and  questioned  him 
about  it. 

"  Yes,"  he  answered,  "  I  want  the  wood  cut. 
What  will  you  charge  to  do  it  ?  " 

"  How  much  is  there  ? " 

"  About  a  hundred  cords." 

James  thought  of  the  time  when  he  cut  twenty- 
five  cords  for  seven  dollars,  and  he  named  a  price 
to  correspond. 

"  I'll  give  you  twenty-five  dollars,"  said  the 
proprietor  of  the  wood. 

It  was  a  low  price  for  the  labor  involved,  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  would  be  of  essential  service 
to  the  struggling  student. 

"  I  will  undertake  it,"  he  said. 

"  When  will  you  go  to  work  ? " 

u  Now !  "  answered  James  promptly. 

How  long  it  took  him  to  do  the  work  we  have 
no  record,  but  he  doubtless  worked  steadfastly 
till  it  was  accomplished.  We  can  imagine  the 
satisfaction  he  felt  when  the  money  was  put  into 
his  hands,  and  he  felt  that  he  would  not  need  to 
be  quite  so  economical  in  the  coming  term. 


84          BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

Accordingly,  when  the  vacation  was  over  and 
James  went  back  to  the  seminary,  he  did  not 
re-engage  the  room  which  he  and  his  two  friends 
had  rented  the  term  before.  He  realized  that  to 
be  in  a  condition  to  study  well  he  must  feed  his 
body  well,  and  he  was  in  favor  of  a  more  gener 
ous  system  of  diet.  Besides,  the  labor  required 
for  cooking  was  so  much  time  taken  from  his 
study  hours. 

He  heard  that  a  widow — Mrs.  Stiles — mother 
of  the  present  sheriff  of  Ashtabula  County,  was 
prepared  to  receive  boarders,  and,  accordingly, 
he  called  upon  her  to  ascertain  if  she  would  re 
ceive  him. 

She  knew  something  of  him  already,  for  she 
learned  that  he  had  obtained  the  reputation  of  a 
steady  and  orderly  student,  and  was  disposed  to 
favor  his  application. 

The  next  question  wras  an  important  one  to 
young  Garfield. 

"  How  much  do  you  expect  me  to  pay  ? " 

He  waited  with  some  anxiety  for  the  answer, 
for  though  he  had  twenty-five  dollars  in  his 
pocket,  the  term  was  a  long  one,  and  tuition  was 
to  be  paid  also. 


* 

JAMES  A.   GARF1ELD.  Q5 

"  A  dollar  and  six  cents  will  be  about  right," 
said  Mrs.  Stiles,  "  for  board,  washing,  and  lodg 
ing." 

"  That  will  be  satisfactory,"  said  James,  with  a 
sigh  of  relief,  for  he  saw  his  way  clear  to  pay 
this  sum  for  a  time,  at  least,  and  for  the  whole 
term  if  he  could  again  procure  employment  at  his 
old  trade. 

A  dollar  and  six  cents !  It  was  rather  an  odd 
sum,  and  we  should  consider  it  nowadays  as  very- 
low  for  any  sort  of  board  in  any  village,  however 
obscure  or  humble.  But  in  those  days  it  was  not 
so  exceptional,  and  provisions  were  so  much  lower 
that  the  widow  probably  lost  nothing  by  her 
boarder,  though  she  certainly  could  not  have  made 
much. 

James  had  no  money  to  spare  for  another  pur 
pose,  though  there  was  need  enough  of  it.  He 
needed  some  new  clothes  badly.  He  had  neither 
underclothing  nor  overcoat,  and  but  one  outside 
suit,  of  cheap  Kentucky  jean.  ~No  doubt  he  was 
subjected  to  mortification  on  account  of  his  slen 
der  supply  of  clothing.  At  any  rate  he  was  once 
placed  in  embarrassing  circumstances. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  term,  as  Mrs.  Stiles 


gg  JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 

says,  his  trowsers  became  exceedingly  thin  at  the 
knees,  and  one  unlucky  day,  when  he  was  incau 
tiously  bending  forward,  they  tore  half-way  round 
the  leg,  exposing  his  bare  knee. 

James  was  very  much  mortified,  and  repaired 
damages  as  well  as  he  could  with  a  pin. 

"  I  need  a  new  suit  of  clothes  badly,"  he  said 
in  the  evening,  "  but  I  can't  afford  to  buy  one. 
See  how  I  have  torn  my  trowsers." 

"  Oh,  that  is  easy  enough  to  mend,"  said  Mrs. 
Stiles,  cheerfully. 

"  But  I  have  no  other  pair  to  wear  while  they 
are  being  mended,"  said  James,  with  a  blush. 

"  Then  you  must  go  to  bed  early,  and  send 
them  down  by  one  of  the  boys.  I  will  dam  the 
hole  so  that  you  will  never  know  it.  You  won't 
mind  such  trifles  when  you  become  President." 

It  was  a  jocose  remark,  and  the  good  lady  little 
dreamed  that,  in  after  years,  the  young  man  with 
but  one  pair  of  pantaloons,  and  those  more  than 
half  worn,  wrould  occupy  the  proud  position  she 
referred  to. 


CHAPTER  X. 


DURING-  his  school-life  at  Geauga  Seminary 
James  enjoyed  the  companionship  of  a  cousin, 
Henry  B.  Boynton,  who  still  lives  on  the  farm 
adjoining  the  one  on  which  our  hero  was  horn. 
The  relationship  between  the  two  boys  was  much 
closer  than  is  common  between  cousins ;  for  while 
their  mothers  were  sisters,  their  fathers  were  half- 
brothers.  Henry  was  two  years  older  than  James, 
and  they  were  more  like  brothers  than,  cousins. 
I  am  sure  my  young  readers  will  be  glad  to  read 
what  Henry  has  to  say  of  their  joint  school-life.  I 
quote  from  the  account  of  an  interview  held  with 
a  correspondent  of  the  Boston  Herald,  bearing 
the  date  of  September  23,  1881 : 

When  General  Garfield  was  nominated  to  the 
Presidency  his  old  neighbors  in  Orange  erected  a 
flag-staff  where  the  house  stood  which  Garfield 
and  his  brother  erected  for  their  mother  and  sis- 

(87) 


gg          BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

ters  with  their  own  hands,  after  the  log  hut,  a 
little  farther  out  in  the  field  nearer  the  wood,  had 
become  unfit  for  habitation.  Thomas  Garfield, 
the  uncle  of  the  President,  who  not  long  since 
was  killed  by  a  railroad  accident,  directed  the 
manual  labor  of  rearing  the  shaft,  and  was  proud 
of  his  work. 

There  is  nothing  except  this  hole  left  to  mark 
his  birth-place,  and  the  old  well,  not  two  rods  off, 
which  he  and  his  brother  dug  to  furnish  water 
for  the  family.  In  the  little  maple  grove  to  the 
left,  children  played  about  the  school-house  where 
the  dead  President  first  gathered  the  rudiments 
upon  which  he  built  to  such  purpose.  The  old 
orchard  in  its  sere  and  yellow  leaf,  the  dying 
grass,  and  the  turning  maple  leaves  seemed  to 
join  in  the  great  mourning. 

Adjoining  the  field  where  the  flag  floats  is  an 
unpretentious  home,  almost  as  much  identified 
with  Gen.  Garfield's  early  history  as  the  one  he 
helped  to  clear  of  the  forest  timber  while  he  was 
yet  but  a  child.  It  is  the  home  of  Henry  B. 
Boynton,  cousin  of  the  dead  President,  and  a 
brother  of  Dr.  Boynton,  whose  name  has  become 
so  well  known  from  recent  events. 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  §9 

Wliile  rambling  over  this  place  the  correspond 
ent  came  upon  this  near  relative  of  Gartield, 
smaller  in  stature  than  he  was,  but  in  features 
bearing  a  striking  resemblance  to  him. 

"  General  Garfield  and  I  were  like  brothers," 
he  said,  as  he  turned  from  giving  some  directions 
to  his  farm  hands,  now  sowing  the  fall  grain  upon 
ground  which  his  cousin  had  first  helped  to  break. 
"  His  father  died  yonder,  within  a  stone's  throw 
of  us,  when  the  son  was  but  a  year  and  a  half 
old.  He  knew  no  other  father  than  mine,  who 
watched  over  the  family  as  if  it  had  been  his 
own.  This  very  house  in  which  I  live  was  as 
much  his  home  as  it  was  mine. 

"Over  there,"  said  he,  pointing  to  the  brick 
school-house  in  the  grove  of  maples,  around  which 
the  happy  children  were  playing,  "  is  where  he 
and  I  both  started  for  school.  I  have  read  a 
statement  that  he  could  not  read  or  write  until 
he  was  nineteen.  He  could  do  both  before  he 
was  nine,  and  before  he  was  twelve,  so  familiar 
was  he  with  the  Indian  history  of  the  country, 
that  he  had  named  every  tree  in  the  orchard, 
which  his  father  planted  as  he  was  born,  with  the 
name  of  some  Indian  chief,  and  even  debated  in 


90  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

societies,  religion,  and  other  topics  with  men. 
One  favorite  tree  of  his  he  named  Tecumseh,  and 
the  branches  of  many  of  these  old  trees  have 
been  cut  since  his  promotion  to  the  Presidency 
by  relic-hunters,  and  carried  away. 

"  Gen.  Garfield  was  a  remarkable  boy  as  well 
as  man.  It  is  not  possible  to  tell  you  the  fight 
he  made  amid  poverty  for  a  place  in  life,  and 
how  gradually  he  obtained  it.  When  he  was  a 
boy  he  would  rather  read  than  work.  But  he 
became  a  great  student.  He  had  to  work  after 
he  was  twelve  years  of  age.  In  those  days  we 
were  all  poor,  and  it  took  hard  knocks  to  get  on. 
He  worked  clearing  the  fields  yonder  with  his 
brother,  and  then  cut  cord- wood,  and  did  other 
farm  labor  to  get  the  necessities  of  life  for  his 
mother  and  sisters. 

"  I  remember  when  he  was  fourteen  years  of 
age,  he  went  away  to  work  at  Daniel  Morse's, 
not  four  miles  down  the  road  from  here,  and 
after  the  labors  of  the  day  he  sat  down  to  listen 
to  the  conversation  of  a  teacher  in  one  of  the 
schools  of  Cleveland,  when  it  was  yet  a  village, 
who  had  called.  The  talk  of  the  educated  man 
pleased  the  boy,  and,  while  intent  upon  his  story, 


JAMES  A.    0 'An FIELD.  §\ 

a  daughter  of  the  man  for  whom  he  was  working 
informed  the  future  President  with  great  dignity 
that  it  was  time  that  servants  were  in  bed,  and 
that  she  preferred  his  absence  to  his  presence. 

"  Nothing  that  ever  happened  to  him  so  severe 
ly  stung  him  as  this  affront.  In  his  youth  he 
conld  never  refer  to  it  without  indignation,  and 
almost  immediately  he  left  Mr.  Morse's  employ 
and  went  on  the  canal.  He  said  to  me  then  that 
those  people  should  live  to  see  the  day  when  they 
would  not  care  to  insult  him. 

"  His  experience  on  the  canal  was  a  severe  one, 
but  perhaps  useful  I  can  remember  the  winter 
Avhen  he  came  home  after  the  summer's  service 
there.  He  had  the  chills  all  that  fall  and  winter, 
yet  he  would  shake  and  get  his  lessons  at  home  ; 
go  over  to  the  school  and  recite,  and  thus  keep 
up  with  his  class.  The  next  spring  found  him 
weak  from  constant  ague.  Yet  he  intended  to 
return  to  the  canal. 

"  Here  came  the  turning-point  in  his  life.  Mr. 
Bates,  who  taught  the  school,  pleaded  with  him 
not  to  do  so,  and  said  that  if  he  would  continue 
in  school  till  the  next  fall  he  could  get  a  certifi 
cate.  I  received  a  certificate  about  the  same  time. 


92  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

The  next  year  we  went  to  the  seminary  at 
Chester,  only  twelve  miles  distant.  Here  onr 
books  were  furnished  us,  and  we  cooked  our  own 
victuals.  We  lived  upon  a  dollar  a  week  each. 
Our  diet  was  strong,  but  very  plain  ;  mush  and 
molasses,  pork  and  potatoes.  Saturdays  we  took 
our  axes,  and  went  into  the  woods  and  cut  cord- 
wood.  During  vacations  we  labored  in  the  har 
vest-field,  or  taught  a  district  school,  as  we 
could. 

"  Yonder,"  said  he,  pointing  to  a  beautiful  val 
ley,  about  two  miles  distant,  <;  stands  the  school- 
house  where  Garfield  first  taught  school.  He  got 
twelve  dollars  a  month,  and  boarded  round.  I 
also  taught  school  in  a  neighboring  town.  We 
both  went  back  to  Chester  to  college,  and  would 
probably  have  finished  our  education  there,  but 
it  was  a  Baptist  school,  and  they  were  constantly 
making  flings  at  the  children  of  the  Disciples, 
and  teaching  sectarianism.  As  the  Disciples 
grew  stronger  they  determined  their  children 
should  not  be  subjected  to  such  influence ;  the 
college  of  our  own  Church  was  established  at 
Hiram,  and  there  Garfield  and  I  went." 

Though   the  remainder  of   the  reminiscences 


JAMES  A.   OARFIELD.  93 

somewhat  anticipate  the  course  of  our  story,  it  is 
perhaps  as  well  to  insert  it  here. 

"  We  lodged  in  the  basement  most  of  the  time, 
and  boarded  at  the  present  Mrs.  Garfield's  father's 
house.  During  our  school-days  here  I  nursed  the 
late  President  through  an  attack  of  the  measles 
which  nearly  ended  his  life.  He  has  often  said, 
that,  were  it  not  for  my  attention,  he  could  not 
have  lived.  So  you  see  that  the  General  and  my 
self  were  very  close  to  one  another  from  the  time 
either  of  us  could  lisp  until  he  became  President. 
Here  is  a  picture  we  had  taken  together,"  show 
ing  an  old  daguerreotype.  "  It  does  not  resemble 
either  of  us  much  now.  And  yet  they  do  say 
that  we  bore  in  our  childhood,  and  still  bear,  a 
striking  resemblance.  I  am  still  a  farmer,  while 
he  grew  great  and  powerful.  He  never  permitted 
a  suggestion,  however,  to  be  made  in  my  presence 
as  to  the  difference  in  our  paths  of  life.  He  vis 
ited  me  here  before  election,  and  looked  with 
gratification  upon  that  pole  yonder,  and  its  flag, 
erected  by  his  neighbors  and  kinsmen.  He  wan 
dered  over  the  fields  he  had  himself  helped  clear, 
and  pointed  out  to  me  trees  from  the  limbs  of 
which  he  had  shot  squirrel  after  squirrel,  and  be- 


94          BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

neath  the  branches  of  which  he  had  played  and 
worked  in  the  years  of  his  infancy  and  boyhood. 

"  I  forgot  to  say  that  one  of  Gen.  Garfield's 
striking  characteristics  while  he  was  growing  up, 
was,  that  when  he  saw  a  boy  in  the  class  excel  him 
in  anything,  he  never  gave  up  till  he  reached  the 
same  standard,  and  even  went  beyond  it.  It  got 
to  be  known  that  no  scholar  could  be  ahead  of 
him.  Our  association  as  men  has  been  almost  as 
close  as  that  of  our  boyhood,  though  not  as  con 
stant.  The  General  never  forgot  his  neighbors 
or  less  fortunate  kinsmen,  and  often  visited  us  as 
we  did  him." 

More  vivid  than  any  picture  I  could  draw  is 
this  description,  by  the  most  intimate  friend  of  his 
boyhood,  of  James  Garfield's  way  of  life,  his  strug 
gles  for  an  education,  his  constant  desire  to  excel, 
and  his  devotion  to  duty.  We  have  already  pict 
ured  the  rustic  boy  in  his  humble  room,  cooking 
his  own  food,  and  living,  as  his  cousin  testifies,  on 
a  dollar  a  week.  Is  there  any  other  country 
where  such  humble  beginnings  could  lead  to  such 
influence  and  power?  Is  there  any  other  land 
where  such  a  lad  could  make  such  rapid  strides 
toward  the  goal  which  crowns  the  highest  ambi- 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  95 

tion  ?  It  is  the  career  of  such  men  that  most 
commends  our  Government  and  institutions,  prov 
ing  as  it  does  that  by  the  humblest  and  poorest 
the  highest  dignities  may  be  attained.  James  was 
content  to  live  on  mush  and  molasses,  pork  and 
potatoes,  since  they  came  within  his  narrow 
means,  and  gave  him  sufficient  strength  to  pursue 
his  cherished  studies.  Nor  is  his  an  exceptional 
case.  I  have  myself  known  college  and  profes 
sional  students  who  have  lived  on  sixty  cents  a 
week  (how,  it  is  difficult  to  tell),  while  their  minds 
were  busy  with  the  loftiest  problems  that  have 
ever  engaged  the  human  intellect.  Such  boys 
and  young  men  are  the  promise  of  the  republic. 
They  toil  upwards  while  others  sleep,  and  many 
such  have  written  their  names  high  on  the  tablets 
in  the  Temple  of  Fame. 


CHAPTEE  XI. 

LEDGE    HILL    SCHOOL. 

EVEE  since  he  began  to  study  at  Geauga  Semi 
nary  James  had  looked  forward  to  earning  a  little 
money  by  keeping  school  himself ;  not  an  ad 
vanced  school,  of  course,  but  an  ordinary  school, 
such  as  was  kept  in  the  country  districts  in  the 
winter.  He  felt  no  hesitation  as  to  his  compe 
tence.  The  qualifications  required  by  the  school 
committees  were  by  no  means  large,  and  so  far 
there  was  no  difficulty. 

There  was  one  obstacle,  however :  James  was 
still  a  boy  himself — a  large  boy,  to  be  sure,  but  he 
had  a  youthful  face,  and  the  chances  were  that  he 
would  have  a  number  of  pupils  older  than  him 
self.  Could  he  keep  order  ?  "Would  the  rough 
country  boys  submit  to  the  authority  of  one  like 
themselves,  whatever  might  be  his  reputation  as 
a  scholar  ?  This  was  a  point  to  consider  anxiously. 
However,  James-had  pluck,  and  he  was  ready  to 

try  the  experiment. 
(06) 


JAMES  A.    GAEFIELD.  97 

He  would  have  been  glad  to  secure  a  school  so 
far  away  that  he  could  go  there  as  a  stranger,  and 
be  received  as  a  young  man.  But  no  such  oppor 
tunity  offered.  There  was  another  opening  nearer 
home. 

A  teacher  was  wanted  for  the  Ledge  Hill  dis 
trict  in  Orange,  and  the  committee-man  bethought 
himself  of  James  Garn'eld. 

So  one  day  he  knocked  at  Mrs.  Garfield's  door. 

"  Is  James  at  home  ? "  he  asked. 

James  heard  the  question,  and  came  forward 
to  meet  his  visitor. 

"  Good-morning,"  he  said,  pleasantly ;  "  did  you 
want  to  see  me  ?  " 

"  Are  you  calculating  to  keep  school  this  win 
ter  ?  "  asked  his  visitor. 

u  If  I  can  get  a  school  to  keep,"  was  the  reply. 

"  That's  the  business  I  came  about.  We  want 
a  schoolmaster  for  the  Ledge  Hill  School.  How 
would  yon  like  to  try  it  ?  " 

"  The  Ledge  Hill  School !  "  repeated  James,  in 
some  dismay.  "Why,  all  the  boys  know  me 
there." 

"  Of  course  they  do.     Then  they  won't  need  to 
be  introduced." 
7 


93  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

""Will  they  obey  me?  That's  what  I  was 
thinking  of.  There  are  some  pretty  hard  cases 
in  that  school." 

"  That's  where  you  are  right." 

"  I  wouldn't  like  to  try  it  and  fail,"  said  James, 
doubtfully. 

"  You  won't  if  you'll  follow  my  advice,"  said 
the  committee-man. 

"What's  that?" 

"Thrash  the  first  boy  that  gives  you  any 
trouble.  Don't  half  do  it ;  but  give  him  a  sound 
flogging,  so  that  he  will  understand  who's  master. 
You're  strong  enough ;  you  can  do  it." 

James  extended  his  muscular  arm  with  a  smile. 
He  knew  he  was  strong.  He  was  a  large  boy, 
and  his  training  had  been  such  as  to  develop  his 
muscles. 

"  You  know  the  boys  that  will  go  to  school. 
Is  there  any  one  that  can  master  you  ? "  asked  his 
visitor. 

"  .N"o,  I  don't  think  there  is,"  answered  James, 
with  a  smile. 

"  Then  you'll  do.  Let  'em  know  you  are  not 
afraid  of  them  the  first  day.  That's  the  best  ad 
vice  I  can  give  you." 


JAMES  A.   GARF1ELD.  99 

"  I  shouldn't  like  to  get  into  a  fight  with  a 
pupil,"  said  James,  slowly. 

u  You'll  have  to  run  the  risk  of  it  unless  you 
teach  a  girls'  school.  I  guess  you  wouldn't  have 
any  trouble  there." 

"  Not  of  that  kind,  probably.  What  wages  do 
you  pay  ? " 

"  Twelve  dollars  a  month  and  board.  Of  course, 
you'll  board  round." 

Twelve  dollars  a  month  would  not  be  considered 
very  high  wages  now,  but  to  James  it  was  a  con 
sideration.  He  had  earned  as  much  in  other 
ways,  but  he  was  quite  anxious  to  try  his  luck  as 
a  teacher.  That  might  be  his  future  vocation; 
not  teaching  a  district  school,  of  course,  but  this 
would  be  the  first  round  of  the  ladder  that  might 
lead  to  a  college  professorship.  The  first  step  is 
the  most  difficult,  but  it  must  be  taken,  and  the 
Ledge  Hill  School,  difficult  as  it  probably  would 
be,  was  to  be  the  first  step  for  the  future  Presi 
dent  of  Hiram  College. 

All  these  considerations  James  rapidly  revolved 
in  his  mind,  and  then  he  came  to  a  decision. 

"  When  does  the  school  commence  ? "  he 
asked. 


100  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

"  Next  Monday." 

"  I  accept  your  offer.    I'll  be  on  hand  in  time." 

The  news  quickly  reached  the  Ledge  Hill  dis 
trict  that  "  Jim  Garfield,"  as  he  was  popularly 
called,  was  to  be  their  next  teacher. 

"  Have  you  heard  about  the  new  master  ? " 
asked  Tom  Bassett,  one  of  the  hard  cases,  of  a 
friend. 

"No.     Who  is  it?" 

"  Jim  Garfield." 

The  other  whistled. 

"  You  don't  mean  it  ?  " 

«  Yes,  I  do." 

"  How  did  you  hear  ?  " 

"  Mr. ,"  naming  the  committee-man,  "  told 

me." 

"  Then  it  must  be  so.  We'll  have  a  high  old 
time  if  that's  so." 

"  So  we  will,"  chuckled  the  other.  "  I'm  anx 
ious  for  school  to  begin." 

"  He's  only  a  boy  like  us." 

"  That's  so." 

"  He  knows  enough  for  a  teacher;  but  knowin' 
isn't  -everything." 


JAMES  A.    GABFIELD. 

"  You're  right.  We  can't  be  expected  to  mind 
a  boy  like  ourselves  that  we've  known  all  our 
lives." 

"  Of  course  not." 

"  I  like  Jim  well  enough.  He's  a  tip-top  feller ; 
but,  all  the  same,  he  aint  goin'  to  boss  me  round." 

"  Nor  me,  either." 

This  conversation  between  Tom  Bassett  and 
Bill  Stackpole  (for  obvious  reasons  I  use  assumed 
names)  augured  ill  for  the  success  of  the  young 
teacher.  They  determined  to  make  it  hot  for 
him,  and  have  all  the  fun  they  wanted. 

They  thought  they  knew  James  Garfield,  but 
they  made  a  mistake.  They  knew  that  he  was 
of  a  peaceable  disposition  and  not  fond  of  quar 
reling,  and  although  they  also  knew  that  he  was 
strong  and  athletic,  they  decided  that  he  would 
not  long  be  able  to  maintain  his  position.  If  they 
had  been  able  to  read  the  doubts  and  fears  that 
agitated  the  mind  of  their  future  preceptor,  they 
would  have  felt  confirmed  in  their  belief. 

The  fact  was,  James  shrank  from  the  ordeal 
that  awaited  him. 

"  If  I  were  only  going  among  strangers,"  he 
said  to  his  mother,  "  I  wouldn't  mind  it  so  much  ; 


102         BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

but  all  these  boys  and  girls  have  known  me  ever 
since  I  was  a  small  boy  and  went  barefoot." 

"  Does  your  heart  fail  you,  my  son?  "  asked  his 
mother,  who  sympathized  with  him,  yet  saw  that 
it  was  a  trial  which  must  come. 

"  I  can't  exactly  say  that,  but  I  dread  to 
begin." 

"  We  must  expect  to  encounter  difficulties  and 
perplexities,  James.  None  of  our  lives  run  all 
smoothly.  Shall  we  conquer  them  or  let  them 
conquer  us  ? " 

The  boy's  spirit  was  aroused. 

"  Say  no  more,  mother,"  he  replied.  "  I  will 
undertake  the  school,  and  if  success  is  any  way 
possible,  I  will  succeed.  I  have  been  shrinking 
from  it,  but  I  won't  shrink  any  longer." 

c'  That  is  the  spirit  that  succeeds,  James." 
.    James  laughed,  and  in  answer  quoted  Camp 
bell's  stirring  lines  with  proper  emphasis  : 

"I  will  victor  exult,  or  in  death  be  laid  low, 
With  my  face  to  the  field  and  my  feet  to  the  foe." 

So  the  time  passed  till  the  eventful  day  dawned 
oil  which  James  was  to  assume  charge  of  his  first 
school.  He  was  examined,  and  adjudged  to  be 


JAMES  A.   GARF1ELD.  103 

qualified  to  teach;  but  that  he  anticipated  in 
advance. 

The  building  is  still  standing  in  which  James 
taught  his  first  school.  It  is  used  for  quite 
another  purpose  now,  being  occupied  as  a  carriage- 
house  by  the  thrifty  farmer  who  owns  the  ground 
upon  which  it  stands.  The  place  where  the 
teacher's  desk  stood,  behind  which  the  boy  stood 
as  preceptor,  is  now  occupied  by  two  stalls  for 
carriage-horses.  The  benches  which  once  con 
tained  the  children  he  taught  have  been  removed 
to  make  room  for  the  family  carriage,  and  the 
play-ground  is  now  a  barnyard.  The  building 
sits  upon  a  commanding  eminence  known  as 
Ledge  Hill,  and  overlooks  a  long  valley  winding 
between  two  lines  of  hills. 

This  description  is  furnished  by  the  same  corre 
spondent  of  the  Boston  Herald  to  whom  I  am 
already  indebted  for  Henry  Boynton's  reminis 
cences  contained  in  the  last  chapter. 

When  James  came  in  sight,  and  slowly 
ascended  the  hill  in  sight  of  the  motley  crew  of 
boys  and  girls  who  were  assembled  in  front  of 
the  school-house  on  the  first  morning  of  the  term, 
it  was  one  of  the  most  trying  moments  of  his 


104  JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 

life.  He  knew  instinctively  that  the  boys  were 
anticipating  the  fun  in  store  for  them  in  the  in 
evitable  conflict  which  awaited  him,  and  he  felt 
constrained  and  nervous.  He  managed,  however, 
to  pass  through  the  crowd,  wearing  a  pleasant 
smile  and  greeting  his  scholars  with  a  bow. 
There  was  trouble  coming,  he  was  convinced,  but 
he  did  not  choose  to  betray  any  apprehension. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

WHO    SHALL   BE   MASTER? 

WITH  as  much  dignity  as  was  possible  under 
the  circumstances,  James  stepped  to  the  teacher's 
desk  and  rang  the  bell. 

This  was  hardly  necessary,  for  out  of  curiosity 
all  the  scholars  had  promptly  followed  the  young 
teacher  into  the  school-room  and  taken  their 
seats. 

After  the  introductory  exercises,  James  made 
a  brief  address  to  the  scholars : 

"  I  don't  need  any  introduction  to  you,"  he  said, 
"  for  you  all  know  me.  I  see  before  me  many 
who  have  been  my  playfellows  and  associates,  but 
to-day  a  new  relation  is  established  between  us. 
I  am  here  as  your  teacher,  regularly  appointed  by 
the  committee,  and  it  is  my  duty  to  assist  you  as 
far  as  I  can  to  increase  your  knowledge.  I  should 
hardly  feel  competent  to  do  so  if  I  had  not  lately 
attended  Geauga  Seminary,  and  thus  improved 

my  own  education.     I  hope  you  will  consider  me 

(105) 


106         BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

a  friend,  not  only  as  I  have  been,  but  as  one 'who 
is  interested  in  promoting  your  best  interests. 
One  thing  more,"  he  added,  "it  is  not  only  n  y 
duty  to  teach  you,  but  to  maintain  good  order, 
and  this  I  mean  to  do.  In  school  I  wish  you  to 
look  upon  me  as  your  teacher,  but  outside  I  shall 
join  you  in  your  sports,  and  be  as  much  a  boy  as 
any  of  you.  We  will  now  proceed  to  our  daily 
lessons." 

This  speech  was  delivered  with  self-possession, 
and  favorably  impressed  all  who  heard  it,  even 
the  boys  who  meant  to  make  trouble,  but  they 
could  not  give  up  their  contemplated  fun.  Never 
theless,  by  tacit  agreement,  they  preserved  per 
fect  propriety  for  the  present.  They  were  not 
ready  for  the  explosion. 

The  boy  teacher  was  encouraged  by  the  unex 
pected  quiet. 

"  After  all,"  he  thought,  "  everything  is  likely 
to  go  smoothly.  I  need  not  have  troubled  myself 
so  much." 

He  knew  the  usual  routine  at  the  opening  of 
a  school  term.  The  names  of  the  children  were 
to  be  taken,  they  were  to  be  divided  into  classes, 
and  lessons  were  to  be  assigned.  Feeling  more 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  107 

confidence  in  himself,  James  went  about  this 
work  in  business  fashion,  and  when  recess  came, 
the  comments  made  by  the  pupils  in  the  play 
ground  were  generally  favorable. 

"  He's  going  to  make  a  good  teacher,"  said  one 
of  the  girls,  "as  good  as  any  we've  had,  and  he's 
so  young  too." 

"  He  goes  to  work  as  if  he  knew  how,"  said 
another.  UI  didn't  think  Jimmy  Garfield  had 
so  much  in  him." 

"  Oh,  he's  smart !  "  said  another.  "  Just  think 
of  brother  Ben  trying  to  keep  school,  and  he's 
just  as  old  as  James." 

Meanwhile  Tom  Bassett  and  Bill  Stackpole 
had  a  private  conference  together. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  Jim's  speech,  Bill  ? " 
asked  Tom. 

"  Oh,  it  sounded  well  enough,  but  I'll  bet  he 
was  trembling  in  his  boots  all  the  while  he  was 
talkin'." 

"Maybe  so,  but  he  seemed  cool  enough." 

"  Oh,  that  was  all  put  on.  Did  you  hear  what 
he  said  about  keepin'  order  ?  " 

"  Yes,  he  kinder  looked  at  yon  an'  me  when 
he  was  talkin'." 


108  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

"  I  guess  he  heard  about  our  turnin'  out  the 
last  teacher." 

"  Of  course.  I  tell  you,  it  took  some  cheek  to 
come  here  and  order  'round  us  boys  that  has 
known  him  all  his  life." 

"  That's  so.  Do  you  think  he's  goin.'  to  main 
tain  order,  as  he  calls  it  ?  " 

"You  just  wait  till  afternoon.  He'll  know 
better  then." 

James  did  not  go  out  to  recess  the  first  day. 
He  had  some  things  to  do  affecting  the  organiza 
tion  of  the  school,  and  so  he  remained  at  his 
desk.  Several  of  the  pupils  came  up  to  consult 
him  on  one  point  or  another,  and  he  received 
them  all  with  that  pleasant  manner  which  through 
out  his  life  was  characteristic  of  him.  To  one 
and  another  he  gave  a  hint  or  a  suggestion,  based 
upon  Ids  knowledge  of  their  character  and  abili 
ties.  One  of  the  boys  said :  "  Do  you  think  I'd 
better  study  grammar,  Jimmy — I  mean  Mr.  Gar- 
field?" 

James  smiled.  He  knew  the  slip  was  uninten 
tional.  Of  course  it  would  not  do  for  him  to 
allow  himself  to  be  addressed  in  school  by  a  pupil 
as  Jimmy. 


JJLME8  A.    OABF1ELD.  109 

"  Yes,"  be  answered,  "  unless  you  think  you 
know  all  about  it  already." 

"  I  don't  know  the  first  thing  about  it." 

"  Then,  of  course,  you  ought  to  study  it.  Why 
shouldn't  you?  " 

"  But  I  can't  make  nothin'  out  of  it.  I  can't 
understand  it  nohow." 

"  Then  you  need  somebody  to  explain  it  to 
you." 

"  It's  awful  stupid." 

"  I  don't  think  you  will  find  it  so  when  you 
come  to  know  more  about  it.  I  shall  be  ready  to 
explain  it.  I  think  I  can  make  you  understand 
it." 

Another  had  a  sum  he  could  not  do.  So  James 
found  the  recess  pass  quickly  away,  and  again 
the  horde  of  scholars  poured  into  the  school-room. 

It  was  not  till  afternoon  that  the  conflict  came. 

Tom  Bassett  belonged  to  the  first  class  in  geog 
raphy. 

James  called  out  the  class. 

All  came  out  except  Tom,  who  lounged  care 
lessly  in  his  seat. 

"  Thomas,  don't  you  belong  to  this  class  2 " 
asked  the  young  teacher. 


HO  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

"  I  reckon  I  do." 

"  Then  why  don't  you  come  out  to  recite  ? " 

"  Oh,  I  feel  lazy,"  answered  Tom,  with  a  sig 
nificant  smile,  as  if  to  inquire,  "  What  are  you 
goin'  to  do  about  it  ?  " 

James  thought  to  himself  with  a  thrill  of  un 
pleasant  excitement,  "  It's  coming.  In  ten  min 
utes  I  shall  know  whether  Torn  Bassett  or  I  is  to 
rule  this  school." 

His  manner  was  calm,  however,  as  he  said, 
"  That  is  no  excuse.  I  can't  accept  it.  As  your 
teacher  I  order  you  to  join  your  class." 

"  Can't  you  wait  till  to-morrow  ? "  asked  Tom, 
with  a  grin,  which  was  reflected  on  the  faces  of 
several  other  pupils. 

"  I  think  I  understand  you,"  said  James,  -with 
outward  calmness.  "  You  defy  my  authority." 

"  You're  only  a  boy  like  me,"  said  Tom ;  "  I 
don't  see  why  I  should  obey  you." 

"  If  you  were  teacher,  and  I  pupil,  I  should 
obey  you,"  said  James,  "  and  I  expect  the  same 
of  you." 

"  Oh,  go  on  with  the  recitation ! "  said  Tom, 
lazily.  "  Never  mind  me  !  " 

James  felt  that  he  could  afford  to  wait  no  longer. 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  \\\ 

Turning  to  the  class,  lie  said,  "  I  shall  have  to 
delay  you  for  a  minute." 

lie  walked  deliberately  up  to  the  seat  where 
Tom  Bassett  was  sitting. 

Tom  squared  off  in  the  expectation  of  an  assault ; 
but,  with  the  speed  of  lightning,  the  young 
teacher  grasped  him  by  the  collar,  and,. with  a 
strength  that  surprised  himself,  dragged  him  from 
his  seat,  in  spite  of  his  struggles,  till  he  reached 
the  place  where  the  class  was  standing. 

By  this  time  Bill  Stackpole  felt  called  upon  to 
help  his  partner  in  rebellion. 

"  You  let  him  alone ! "  he  said,  menacingly, 
stepping  forward. 

"  One  at  a  time  !  "  said  James,  coolly.  "  I  will 
be  ready  for  you  in  a  minute." 

He  saw  that  there  was  only  one  thing  to  do. 

He  dragged  Tom  to  the  door,  and  forcibly 
ejected  him,  saying,  "  When  you  get  ready  to 
obey  me  you  can  come  back." 

He  had  scarcely  turned  when  Bill  Stackpole 
was.  upon  him. 

With  a  quick  motion  of  the  foot  James  tripped 
him  up,  and,  still  retaining  his  grasp  on  his  col 
lar,  said,  u  Will  you  go  or  stay  ? " 


U2  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

Bill  was  less  resolute  than  Tom. 

"  I  guess  I'll  stay,"  lie  said  ;  then  picked  him 
self  up  and  resumed  his  place  in  the  class. 

Apparently  calm,  James  returned  to  his  desk, 
and  commenced  hearing  the  class  recite. 

The  next  morning,  on  his  way  to  school,  James 
overtook  Tom  Bassett,  who  eyed  him  with  evident 
embarrassment.  Tom's  father  had  sent  him  back 
to  school,  and  Tom  did  not  dare  disobey. 

"  Good-morning,  Tom,"  said  James,  pleas 
antly. 

"Mornin' !  "  muttered  Tom. 

"  I  hope  you  are  going  to  school  ?  " 

"  Father  says  I  must." 

"  I  am  glad  of  that,  too.  By  the  way,  Tom,  I 
think  I  shall  have  to  get  some  of  the  scholars  to 
help  me  with  some  of  the  smaller  pupils.  I  should 
like  to  get  you  to  hear  the  lowest  class  in  arith 
metic  to-day." 

"  You  want  me  to  help  you  teach  ?  "  exclaimed 
Tom,  in  amazement. 

"  Yes ;  it  will  give  me  more  time  for  the 
higher  classes." 

"  And  you  don't  bear  no  malice  on  account  of 
yesterday  ? " 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  \  \  3 

"Oh,  no;  we  are  too  good  friends  to  mind 
such  a  trifle." 

"  Then,"  said  Tom,  impulsively,  "  you  won't 
have  no  more  trouble  with  me.  I'll  help  you  all 
I  can." 

There  was  general  surprise  felt  when  the  young 
teacher  and  his  rebellious  scholar  were  seen  ap 
proaching  the  school-house,  evidently  on  the  most 
friendly  terms.  There  was  still  greater  surprise 
when,  during  the  forenoon,  James  requested  Tom 
to  hear  the  class  already  mentioned.  At  recess 
Tom  proclaimed  his  intention  to  lick  any  boy  that 
was  impudent  to  the  teacher,  and  the  new  Gar- 
field  administration  seemed  to  be  established  on  a 
firm  basis. 

This  incident,  which  is  based  upon  an  actual 
resort  to  war  measures  on  the  part  of  the  young 
teacher,  is  given  to  illustrate  the  strength  as  well 
as  the  amiability  of  Garfield's  character.  It  was 
absolutely  necessary  that  he  should  show  his 
ability  to  govern. 


8 


CHAPTEE  XIII. 

JAMES   LEAVES    GEATTGA   SEMINAKY. 

WHILE  teaching  his  first  school  James  "  boarded 
round  "  among  the  families  who  sent  pupils  to  his 
school.  It  was  not  so  pleasant  as  having  a  per 
manent  home,  but  it  afforded  him  opportunities  of 
reaching  and  influencing  his  scholars  which  other 
wise  he  could  not  have  enjoyed.  With  his  cheer 
ful  temperament  and  genial  manners,  he  could 
hardly  fail  to  be  an  acquisition  to  any  family  with 
whom  he  found  a  home.  He  was  ready  enough 
to  join  in  making  the  evenings  pass  pleasantly, 
and  doubtless  he  had  ways  of  giving  instruction 
indirectly,  and  inspiring  a  love  of  learning  simi 
lar  to  that  which  he  himself  possessed. 

He  returned  to  school  with  a  small  sum  of 
money  in  his  pocket,  which  was  of  essential  serv 
ice  to  him  in  his  economical  way  of  living.  But 
he  brought  also  an  experience  in  imparting  knowl 
edge  to  others  which  was  of  still  greater  value. 
(114) 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  \\§ 

An  eminent  teacher  lias  said  that  we  never  fully 
know  anything  till  we  have  tried  to  impart  it  to 
others. 

James  remained  at  the  Geauga  Seminary  for 
three  years.  Every  winter  he  taught  school,  and 
with  success.  In  one  of  these  winter  sessions,  we 
are  told  by  Rev.  William  M.  Thayer,  in  his  biog 
raphy  of  Garfield,  that  he  was  applied  to  by  an 
ambitious  student  to  instruct  him  in  geometry. 
There  was  one  difficulty  in  the  way,  and  that  a 
formidable  one.  He  was  entirely  unacquainted 
with  geometry  himself.  But,  he  reflected,  here 
is  an  excellent  opportunity  for  me  to  acquire  a 
new  branch  of  knowledge.  Accordingly  he  pro 
cured  a  text-book,  studied  it  faithfully  at  night, 
keeping  sufficiently  far  ahead  of  his  pupil  to 
qualify  him  to  be  his  guide  and  instructor,  and  the 
pupil  never  dreamed  that  his  teacher,  like  himself, 
was  traversing  unfamiliar  ground. 

It  was  early  in  his  course  at  Geauga  that  he 
made  the  acquaintance  of  one  who  was  to  prove 
his  closest  and  dearest  friend  —  the  young  lady 
who  in  after  years  was  to  become  his  wife.  Lu- 
cretia  Rudolph  was  the  daughter  of  a  farmer  in 
the  neighborhood — "  a  quiet,  thoughtful  girl,  of 


HQ  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

singularly  sweet  and  refined  disposition,  fond  of 
study  and  reading,  and  possessing  a  warm  heart, 
and  a  mind  capable  of  steady  growth."  Probably 
James  was  first  attracted  to  her  by  intellectual 
sympathy  and  a  community  of  tastes ;  but  as  time 
passed  he  discerned  in  her  something  higher  and 
better  than  mere  intellectual  aspiration  ;  and  who 
shall  say  in  the  light  that  has  been  thrown  by  re 
cent  events  on  the  character  of  Lucretia  Garfield, 
that  he  was  not  wholly  right  ? 

Though  we  are  anticipating  the  record,  it  may 
be  in  place  to  say  here  that  the  acquaintance 
formed  here  was  renewed  and  ripened  at  Hiram 
College,  to  which  in  time  both  transferred  them 
selves.  There  as  pupil-teacher  James  Garfield  be 
came  in  one  branch  the  instructor  of  his  future 
wife,  and  it  was  while  there  that  the  two  became 
engaged.  It  was  a  long  engagement.  James  had 
to  wait  the  traditional  "  seven  years  "  for  his  wife, 
but  the  world  knows  how  well  he  was  repaid  for 
his  long  waiting. 

"  Did  you.  know  Mrs.  Garfield '( "  asked  a  re 
porter  of  the  Chicago  Inter-Ocean  of  Mr.  Philo 
Chamberlain,  of  Cleveland. 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  was  the  reply.  "  My  wife  knows 


JAMES  A.    OAK  FIELD.  Hy 

her  intimately.  They  used  to  teach  school  to 
gether  in  Cleveland.  Mrs.  Garfield  is  a  splendid 
lady.  She  wasn't  what  you  would  call  a  brilliant 
teacher,  but  she  was  an  unusually  good  one,  very 
industrious,  and  the  children  made  rapid  progress 
in  their  studies  under  her.  And  then  she  was 
studious,  too.  Why,  she  acquired  three  languages 
while  she  was  in  school,  both  as  a  student  and  a 
teacher,  and  she  spoke  them  well,  I  ana  told.  They 
were  married  shortly  after  he  came  back  from 
"Williams,  and  I  forgot  to  tell  you  a  nice  little 
thing  about  the  time  when  he  paid  Dr.  Robinson 
back  the  money  he  had  spent  on  him.  When 
Dr.  Robinson  refused  to  take  the  interest,  which 
amounted  to  a  snug  little  sum,  Garfield  said : 

O  i 

i  Well,  Doctor,  that  is  one  big  point  in  my  favor, 
as  now  I  can  get  married.'  It  seems  that  they 
had  been  engaged  for  a  long  time,  but  had  to  wait 
till  he  could  get  something  to  marry  on.  And  I 
tell  you  it  isn't  every  young  man  that  will  let  the 
payment  of  a  self-irnposed  debt  stand  between 
him  and  getting  married  to  the  girl  he  loves." 

Without  anticipating  too  far  events  we  have  not 
yet  reached,  it  may  be  said  that  Lucretia  Gar- 
field's  education  and  culture  made  her  not  the 


Hg  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

wife  only,  but  the  sympathetic  friend  and  intel 
lectual  helper  of  her  husband.  Her  early  studies 
were  of  service  to  her  in  enabling  her  partially  to 
prepare  for  college  her  two  oldest  boys.  She  as 
sisted  her  husband  also  in  his  literary  plans,  with 
out  losing  the  domestic  character  of  a  good  wife, 
and  the  refining  graces  of  a  true  woman. 

But  let  us  not  forget  that  James  is  still  a  boy 
in  his  teens.  lie  had  many  hardships  to  encoun 
ter,  and  many  experiences  to  go  through  before 
he  could  set  up  a  home  of  his  own.  He  had  stud 
ied  three  years,  but  his  education  had  only  begun. 
The  Geauga  Seminary  was  only  an  academy,  and 
hardly  the  equal  of  the  best  academies  to  be  found 
at  the  East. 

He  began  to  feel  that  he  had  about  exhausted 
its  facilities,  and  to  look  higher.  He  had  not  far 
to  look. 

During  the  year  1851  the  Disciples,  the  re 
ligious  body  to  which  young  Garh'eld  had  attached 
himself,  opened  a  collegiate  school  at  Hiram,  in 
Portage  County,  which  they  called  an  eclectic 
school.  Now  it  ranks  as  a  college,  but  at  the  time 
James  entered  it,  it  had  not  assumed  so  ambitious 
a  title. 


JAMES  A.   OARFIELD.  H9 

It  was  not  far  away,  and  James'  attention  was 
naturally  drawn  to  it.  There  was  an  advantage 
also  in  its  location.  Hiram  was  a  small  country 
village,  where  the  expenses  of  living  were  small, 
and,  as  we  know,  our  young  student's  purse  was 
but  scantily  filled.  Nevertheless,  so  limited  were 
his  means  that  it  was  a  perplexing  problem  how 
he  would  be  able  to  pay  his  way. 

He  consulted  his  mother,  and,  as  was  always 
the  case,  found  that  she  sympathized  fully  in  his 
purpose  of  obtaining  a  higher  education.  Pecu 
niary  help,  however,  she  could  not  give,  nor  had 
he  at  this  time  any  rich  friends  upon  whom  he 
could  call  for  the  pittance  he  required. 

But  James  was  not  easily  daunted.  He  had 
gone  to  Geauga  Seminary  with  but  seventeen 
dollars  in  his  pocket ;  he  had  remained  there  thi?ee 
years,  maintaining  himself  by  work  at  his  old 
trade  of  carpenter  and  teaching,  and  had  grad 
uated  owing  nothing.  He  had  become  self- 
reliant,  and  felt  that  what  he  had  done  at  Chester 
he  could  do  at  Hiram. 

So  one  fine  morning  he  set  out,  with  a  light 
heart  and  a  pocket  equally  light,  for  the  infant 
institution  from  which  he  hoped  so  muck 


]2Q  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

The  Board  of  Trustees  were  in  session,  as  we 
learn  from  the  account  given  by  one  of  their  num 
ber,  when  James  arrived  and  sought  an  audience. 

After  a  little  delay,  the  doorkeeper  was  in 
structed  to  bring  him  in. 

James  was  nineteen  at  this  time.  He  was  no 
longer  as  homespun  in  appearance  as  when  he  sat 
upon  a  log  with  Dr.  Robinson,  in  the  seclusion  of 
the  woods,  and  asked  his  advice  about  a  career. 
Nevertheless,  he  was  still  awkward.  He  had 
grown  rapidly,  was  of  slender  build,  and  had  no 
advantages  of  dress  to  recommend  him.  One  who 
saw  him  in  after-life,  with  his  noble,  imposing 
presence,  would  hardly  recognize  any  similarity 
between  him  and  the  raw  country  youth  who 
stood  awkwardly  before  the  Board  of  Trustees,  to 
plead  his  cause.  It  happens  not  unfrequently 
that  a  lanky  youth  develops  into  a  fine-looking 
man.  Charles  Sumner,  at  the  age  of  twenty, 
stood  six  feet  two  inches  in  his  stockings,  and 
weighed  but  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds ! 
Yet  in  after-life  he  was  a  man  of  noble  presence. 

But  all  this  while  we  are  leaving  James  in  sus 
pense  before  the  men  whose  decision  is  to  affect 
his  life  so  powerfully. 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  121 

"Well,  young  man,"  asked  the  Principal, 
"  what  can  we  do  for  you  ? " 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  James,  earnestly,  "  I  want 
an  education,  and  would  like  the  privilege  of 
making  the  fires  and  sweeping  the  floors  of  the 
building  to  pay  part  of  my  expenses." 

There  was  in  his  bearing  and  countenance  an 
earnestness  and  an  intelligence  which  impressed 
the  members  of  the  board. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  Mr.  Frederic  Williams,  one 
of  the  trustees,  "  I  think  we  had  better  try  this 
young  man." 

Another  member,  turning  to  Gartield,  said : 
"How  do  we  know,  young  man,  that  the  work 
will  be  done  as  we  may  desire  ? " 

"Try  me,"  was  the  answer;  "try  me  two 
weeks,  and  if  it  is  not  done  to  your  entire  satis 
faction,  I  will  retire  without  a  word." 

"  That  seems  satisfactory,"  said  the  member 
who  had  asked  the  question. 

"  What  studies  do  you  wish  to  pursue  ?  "  asked 
one  gentleman. 

"  I  want  to  prepare  for  college.  I  shall  wish  to 
study  Latin,  Greek,  mathematics,  and  anything 
else  that  may  be  needed." 


122  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

"  Have  you  studied  any  of  these  already  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Where  ? " 

"  At  the  Geauga  Seminary.  I  can  refer  you  to 
the  teachers  there.  I  have  studied  under  them 
for  three  years,  and  they  know  all  about  me." 

"  What  is  your  name  ? " 

"  James  A.  Garfield." 

"  There  is  something  in  that  young  man,"  said 
one  of  the  trustees  to  Mr.  Williams.  "He 
seems  thoroughly  in  earnest,  and  I  believe  will 
be  a  hard  worker." 

"  I  agree  with  you,"  was  the  reply. 

James  was  informed  that  his  petition  was 
granted,  and  he  at  once  made  arrangements  for 
his  residence  at  Hiram. 


CHAPTER  XIY. 

AT    HIRAM   INSTITUTE. 

HIRAM,  the  seat  of  the  Eclectic  Institute,  was 
not  a  place  of  any  pretension.  It  was  scarcely  a 
village,  but  rather  a  hamlet.  Yet  the  advantages 
which  the  infant  institution  offered  drew  together 
a  considerable  number  of  pupils  of  both  sexes, 
sons  and  daughters  of  the  Western  Reserve 
fanners,  inspired  with  a  genuine  love  of  learning, 
and  too  sensible  to  waste  their  time  on  mere 
amusement. 

This  is  the  account  given  of  it  by  President  B. 
A.  Hinsdale,  who  for  fifteen  years  has  ably 
presided  over  its  affairs :  "  The  institute  building, 
a  plain  but  substantially-built  brick  structure,  was 
put  on  the  top  of  a  windy  hill,  in  the  middle  of  a 
corn-field.  One  of  the  cannon  that  General 
Scott's  soldiers  dragged  to  the  City  of  Mexico  in 
1847,  planted  on  the  roof  of  the  new  structure, 
would  not  have  commanded  a  score  of  farm 
houses. 

(123) 


124         VOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"  Here  the  school  opened  at  the  time  Garfield 
was  closing  his  studies  at  Chester.  It  had  been  in 
operation  two  terms  when  he  offered  himself  for 
enrollment.  Hiram  furnished  a  location,  the 
Board  of  Trustees  a  building  and  the  first 
teacher,  the  surrounding  country  students,  but 
the  spiritual  Hiram  made  itself.  Everything  was 
new.  Society,  traditions,  the  genius  of  the 
school,  had  to  be  evolved  from  the  forces  of  the 
teachers  and  pupils,  limited  by  the  general  and 
local  environment.  Let  no  one  be  surprised  when 
I  say  that  such  a  school  as  this  was  the  best  of  all 
places  for  young  Garfield.  There  was  freedom, 
opportunity,  a  large  society  of  rapidly  and 
eagerly  opening  young  minds,  instructors  who 
were  learned  enough  to  instruct  him,  and  abun 
dant  scope  for  ability  and  force  of  character,  of 
which  he  had  a  superabundance. 

"  Few  of  the  students  who  came  to  Hiram  in 
that  day  had  more  than  a  district-school  educa 
tion,  though  some  had  attended  the  high  schools 
and  academies  scattered  over  the  country  ;  so  that 
Garfield,  though  he  had  made  but  slight  progress 
in  the  classics  and  the  higher  mathematics  pre 
vious  to  his  arrival,  ranked  well  up  with  the  first 


JAMES  A.   OARF1ELD.  {25 

scholars.  In  ability,  all  acknowledged  that  he 
was  the  peer  of  any ;  soon  his  superiority  to  all 
others  was  generally  conceded." 

So  James  entered  upon  his  duties  as  janitor  and 
hell-ringer.  It  was  a  humble  position  for  the 
future  President  of  the  United  States ;  but  no 
work  is  humiliating  which  is  undertaken  with  a 
right  aim  and  a  useful  object.  Of  one  thing  my 
boy-reader  may  be  sure — the  duties  of  the  offices 
were  satisfactorily  performed.  The  school-rooms 
were  well  cared  for,  and  the  bell  was  rung 
punctually.  This  is  shown  by  the  fact  that,  after 
the  two  weeks  of  probation,  he  was  still  continued 
in  office,  though  doubtless  in  the  large  number  of 
students  of  limited  means  in  the  institute  there 
was  more  than  one  that  would  have  been  glad  to 
relieve  him  of  his  office. 

It  will  hardly  be  supposed,  however,  that  the 
position  of  janitor  and  bell-ringer  could  pay  all 
his  expenses.  He  had  two  other  resources.  In 
term-time  he  worked  at  his  trade  of  carpenter  as 
opportunity  offered,  and  in  the  winter,  as  at 
Chester,  he  sought  some  country  town  where  he 
could  find  employment  as  a  teacher. 

The  names  of  the  places  where  he  taught  are 


126  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

not  known  to  me,  though  doubtless  there  is  many 
an  Ohio  farmer,  or  mechanic,  or,  perchance,  pro 
fessional  man,  who  is  able  to  boast  that  he  was 
partially  educated  by  a  President  of  the  United 
States. 

As  characteristic  of  his  coolness  and  firmness,  I 
am  tempted  to  record  an  incident  which  hap 
pened  to  him  in  one  of  his  winter  schools. 

There  were  some  scholars  about  as  large  as 
himself,  to  whom  obedience  to  the  rules  of  the 
school  was  not  quite  easy — who  thought,  in  con 
sideration  of  their  age  and  size,  that  they  might 
venture  upon  acts  which  would  not  be  tolerated 
in  younger  pupils. 

The  school  had  commenced  one  morning,  when 
the  young  teacher  heard  angry  words  and  the 
noise  of  a  struggle  in  the  school-yard,  which 
chanced  to  be  inclosed.  The  noise  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  scholars,  and  interfered  with  the 
attention  which  the  recitation  required. 

James  Garfield  stepped  quietly  outside  of  tho 
door,  and  saw  two  of  his  oldest  and  largest  pupils 
engaged  in  a  wrestling  match.  For  convenience 
we  will  call  them  Brown  and  Jones. 

"  What  are  you  about,  boys  ?  "  asked  the  teacher. 


JAMES  A.   OARFIELD.  127 

The  two  were  so  earnestly  engaged  in  their 
conflict  that  neither  returned  an  answer. 

"  This  must  be  stopped  immediately,"  said 
James,  decisively.  "It  is  disrespectful  to  me, 
and  disturbs  the  recitations." 

He  might  as  well  have  spoken  to  the  wind. 
They  heard,  but  they  continued  their  fight. 

"  This  must  stop,  or  I  will  stop  it  myself,"  said 
the  teacher. 

The  boys  were  not  afraid.  Each  was  about  as 
large  as  the  teacher,  and  they  felt  that  if  he  inter 
fered  he  was  likely  to  get  hurt. 

James  thought  he  had  given  sufficient  warn 
ing.  The  time  had  come  to  act.  He  stepped 
quickly  forward,  seized  one  of  the  combatants, 
and  with  a  sudden  exertion  of  strength,  threw 
him  over  the  fence.  Before  he  had  time  to  re 
cover  from  his  surprise  his  companion  was  lifted 
over  in  the  same  manner. 

"  Now,  go  on  with  your  fighting  if  you  wish," 
said  the  young  teacher;  "though  I  advise  you  to 
shake  hands  and  make  up.  When  you  get  through 
come  in  and  report." 

The  two  young  men  regarded  each  other  fool 
ishly.  Somehow  all  desire  to  fight  had  been 
taken  away. 


128         BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OP 

"  I  guess  we'll  go  in  now,"  said  Brown. 

"  I'm  with  you,"  said  Jones,  and  Garfield  en 
tered  the  school-room,  meekly  followed  by  the 
two  refractory  pupils.  There  was  not  much  use 
in  resisting  the  authority  of  a  teacher  who  could 
handle  them  with  such  ease. 

James  did  not  trouble  them  with  any  moral 
lecture.  He  was  too  sensible.  He  felt  that  all 
had  been  said  and  done  that  was  required. 

But  how  did  he  spend  his  time  at  the  new 
seminary,  and  how  was  he  regarded  ?  Fortu 
nately  we  have  the  testimony  of  a  lady,  now  re 
siding  in  Illinois,  who  was  one  of  the  first  stu 
dents  at  Hiram. 

"  When  he  first  entered  the  school,"  she  writes, 
"he  paid  for  his  schooling  by  doing  janitor's 
work,  sweeping  the  floor  and  ringing  the  bell.  I 
can  see  him  even  now  standing  in  the  morning 
with  his  hand  on  the  bell-rope,  ready  to  give  the 
signal,  calling  teachers  and  scholars  to  engage  in 
the  duties  of  the  day.  As  we  passed  by,  enter 
ing  the  school-room,  he  had  a  cheerful  word  for 
every  one.  He  was  probably  the  most  popular 
person  in  the  institution.  He  was  always  good- 
natured,  fond  of  conversation,  and  very  enter- 


JAMES  A.    GARt'IELD.  129 

taining.  He  was  witty  and  quick  at  repartee,  but 
his  jokes,  though  brilliant  and  sparkling,  were 
always  harmless,  and  he  never  would  willingly 
hurt  another's  feelings. 

"Afterward  he  became  an  assistant  teacher, 
and  while  pursuing  his  classical  studies,  prepara 
tory  to  his  college  course,  he  taught  the  English 
branches.  He  was  a  most  entertaining  teacher — 
ready  with  illustrations,  and  possessing  in  a 
marked  degree  the  power  of  exciting  the  interest 
of  the  scholars,  and  afterward  making  clear  to 
them  the  lessons.  In  the  arithmetic  class  there 
were  ninety  pupils,  and  I  can  not  remember  a 
time  when  there  was  any  flagging  in  the  interest. 
There  were  never  any  cases  of  unruly  conduct, 
or  a  disposition  to  shirk.  With  scholars  who 
were  slow  of  comprehension,  or  to  whom  recita 
tions  were  a  burden,  on  account  of  their  modest 
or  retiring  dispositions,  he  was  specially  attentive, 
and  by  encouraging  words  and  gentle  assistance 
would  manage  to  put  all  at  their  ease,  and 
awaken  in  them  a  confidence  in  themselves^  He 
was  not  much  given  to  amusements  or  the  sports 
of  the  play-ground.  He  was  too  industrious,  and 
too  anxious  to  make  the  utmost  of  his  opportuni 
ties  to  study. 
Q 


130  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

"  He  was  a  constant  attendant  at  the  regular 
meetings  for  prayer,  and  his  vigorous  exhorta 
tions  and  apt  remarks  upon  the  Bible  lessons  were 
impressive  and  interesting.  There  was  a  cordial 
ity  in  his  disposition  which  won  quickly  the  favor 
and  esteem  of  others.  He  had  a  happy  habit  of 
shaking  hands,  and  would  give  a  hearty  grip 
which  betokened  a  kind-hearted  feeling  for  all. 
He  wras  always  ready  to  turn  his  mind  and  hands 
in  any  direction  whereby  he  might  add  to  his 
meagre  store  of  money. 

"  One  of  his  gifts  was  that  of  mezzotint  draw 
ing,  and  he  gave  instruction  in  this  branch.  I 
was  one  of  his  pupils  in  this,  and  have  now  the 
picture  of  a  cross  upon  which  he  did  some  shad 
ing  and  put  on  the  finishing  touches.  Upon  the 
margin  is  written,  in  the  name  of  the  noted 
teacher,  his  own  name  and  his  pupil's.  There  are 
also  two  other  drawings,  one  of  a  large  European 
bird  on  the  bough  of  a  tree,  and  the  other  a 
church-yard  scene  in  winter,  done  by  him  at  that 
time.  In  those  days  the  faculty  and  pupils  were 
wont  to  call  him  '  the  second  Webster,'  and  the 
remark  was  common,  f  He  will  till  the  White 
House  yet.'  In  the  Lyceum  he  early  took  rank 
far  above  the  others  as  a  speaker  and  debater. 


JAMES  A.   GABFJELD.  131 

"During  the  month  of  June  the  entire  school 
went  in  carriages  to  their  annual  grove  meeting 
at  Randolph,  some  twenty-five  miles  away.  On 
this  trip  he  was  the  life  of  the  party,  occasionally 
bursting  out  in  an  eloquent  strain  at  the  sight  of 
a  bird  or  a  trailing  vine,  or  a  venerable  giant  of 
the  forest.  He  would  repeat  poetry  by  the  hour, 
having  a  very  retentive  memory. 

"At  the  Institute  the  members  were  like  a 
band  of  brothers  and  sisters,  all  struggling  to  ad 
vance  in  knowledge.  Then  all  dressed  plainly, 
and  there  was  no  attempt  or  pretence  at  dressing 
fashionably  or  stylishly.  Hiram  was  a  little  coun 
try  place,  with  no  fascinations  or  worldly*attnic- 
tions  to  draw  off  the  minds  of  the  students  from 
their  work." 

Such  is  an  inside  view — more  graphic  than  any 
description  I  can  give — of  the  life  of  James  Gar- 
field  at  Hiram  Institute. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

THREE   BUSY   YEAKS. 

AMONG  the  readers  of  this  volume  there  may  be 
boys  who  are  preparing  for  college.  They  will 
be  interested  to  learn  the  extent  of  James  Gar- 
field's  scholarship,  when  he  left  the  Geauga  Acad 
emy,  and  transferred  himself  to  the  Institute  at 
Hiram.  Though,  in  his  own  language,  he  remem 
bers  with  great  satisfaction  the  work  which  was 
accomplished  for  him  at  Chester,  that  satisfaction 
does  not  spring  from  the  amount  that  he  had  ac 
quired,  but  rather  that  while  there  he  had  formed 
a  definite  purpose  and  plan  to  complete  a  college 
course.  For,  as  the  young  scholar  truly  remarks, 
"  It  is  a  great  point  gained  when  a  young  man 
makes  up  his  mind  to  devote  several  years  to  the 
accomplishment  of  a  definite  work." 

When  James  entered  at  Hiram,  he  had  studied 
Latin  only  six  weeks,  and  just  begun  Greek. 

He  was  therefore  merely  on  the  threshold  of  his 
(132) 


JAMES  A.   OAEF1ELD.  133 

preparatory  course  for  college.  To  anticipate  a 
little,  he  completed  this  coarse,  and  fitted  himself 
to  enter  the  Junior  class  at  Williams  College  in 
the  space  of  three  years.  How  much  labor  this 
required  many  of  my  readers  are  qualified  to  un 
derstand.  It  required  him  to  do  nearly  six  years' 
work  in  three,  though  interrupted  by  work  of 
various  kinds  necessary  for  his  support. 

lie  was  not  yet  able  to  live  luxuriously,  or 
even,  as  we  suppose,  comfortably.  He  occupied  a 
room  with  four  other  students,  which  could  hardly 
have  been  favorable  for  study.  Yet,  in  the  first 
term  he  completed  six  books  of  Caesar's  commen 
taries,  and  made  good  progress  in  Greek.  During 
the  first  winter  he  taught  a  school  at  Warrensville, 
receiving  the  highest  salary  he  had  yet  been  paid, 
eighteen  dollars  a  month — of  course  in  addition  to 
board. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  second  year  the 
president  sent  for  him. 

James  obeyed  the  summons,  wondering  whether 
he  was  to  receive  any  reprimand  for  duty  unful 
filled. 

President  Hayden  received  him  cordially,  thus 
dissipating  his  apprehensions. 


134  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"  Garfield,"  he  said,  "  Mr. ,  tutor  in  En 
glish  and  ancient  languages,  is  sick,  and  it  is  doubt 
ful  whether  he  will  be  able  to  resume  his  duties. 
Do  you  think  you  can  fill  his  place,  besides  carry 
ing  on  jour  own  work  as  student  ?  " 

Young  Garfi eld's  face  flushed  with  pleasure. 
The  compliment  was  unexpected,  but  in  every 
way  the  prospect  it  opened  was  an  agreeable  one. 
His  only  doubt  was  as  to  his  qualifications. 

"  I  should  like  it  very  much,"  he  said,  "  if  you 
think  I  am  qualified." 

"I  have  no  doubt  on  that  point.  You  will 
teach  only  what  is  familiar  to  you,  and  I  believe 
you  have  a  special  faculty  for  imparting  knowl 
edge." 

"  Thank  you  very  much,  Mr.  Hayden,"  said 
Garfield.  "  I  will  accept  with  gratitude,  and  I  will 
do  my  best  to  give  satisfaction." 

How  well  he  discharged  his  office  may  be  in 
ferred  from  the  testimony  given  in  the  last  chap 
ter. 

Though  a  part  of  his  time  was  taken  up  in 
teaching  others,  he  did  not  allow  it  to  delay  his 
own  progress.  Still  before  him  he  kept  the  bright 
beacon  of  a  college  education.  He  had  put  his 


JAMES  A.   QARF1ELD.  135 

hand  to  the  plow,  and  he  was  not  one  to  turn 
back  or  loiter  on  the  way.  That  term  he  began 
Xenoplion's  Anabasis,  and  was  fortunate  enough 
to  find  a  home  in  the  president's  family. 

But  he  was  not  content  with  working  in  term- 
time.  When  the  summer  brought  a  vacation,  he 
felt  that  it  was  too  long  a  time  to  be  lost.  He  in 
duced  ten  students  to  join  him,  and  hired  Pro 
fessor  Dunshee  to  give  them  lessons  for  one 
month.  During  that  time  he  read  the  Eclogues 
and  Gecrgics  of  Virgil  entire,  and  the  first  six 
books  of  Homer's  Iliad,  accompanied  by  a  thor 
ough  drill  in  the  Latin  and  Greek  grammar.  He 
must  have  "  toiled  terribly,"  and  could  have  had 
few  moments  for  recreation.  When  the  fall  term 
commenced,  in  company  with  Miss  Almeda 
Booth,  a  mature  young  lady  of  remarkable  intel 
lect,  and  some  other  students,  he  formed  a  Trans 
lation  society,  which  occupied  itself  with  the  Book 
of  Romans,  of  course  in  the  Greek  version.  During 
the  succeeding  winter  he  read  the  whole  of  "  De 
mosthenes  on  the  Crown." 

The  mental  activity  of  the  young  man  (he  was 
npw  twenty)  seems  exhanstless.  All  this  time  he 
took  an  active  part  in  a  literary  society  composed 


136  BOYHOOD  AND   MANHOOD   OF 

of  some  of  his  fcllew-students.  He  had  already 
become  an  easy,  fluent,  and  forcible  speaker — a 
very  necessary  qualification  for  the  great  work  of 
his  life. 

"  Oh,  I  suppose  he  had  a  talent  for  it,"  some  of 
my  young  readers  may  say. 

Probably  he  had  ;  indeed,  it  is  certain  that  he 
had,  but  it  may  encourage  them  to  learn  that  he 
found  difficulties  at  the  start.  When  a  student 
at  Geauga,  he  made  his  first  public  speech.  It 
was  a  six  minutes'  oration  at  the  annual  exhibition, 
delivered  in  connection  with  a  literary  society  to 
which  he  belonged.  He  records  in  a  diary  kept 
at  the  time  that  he  "was  very  much  scared,"  and 
"  very  glad  of  a  short  curtain  across  the  platform 
that  hid  my  shaking  legs  from  the  audience." 
Such  experiences  are  not  uncommon  in  the  career 
of  men  afterward  noted  for  their  ease  in  public 
speaking.  I  can  recall  such,  and  so  doubtless  can 
any  man  of  academic  or  college  training.  I  wish 
to  impress  upon  my  young  reader  that  Garfield 
was  indebted  for  what  he  became  to  earnest  work. 

While  upon  the  subject  of  public  speaking  I  am 
naturally  led  to  speak  of  young  Garfi eld's  relig 
ious  associations.  His  mind  has  already  been  im- 


JAMES  A.    OARFIELD.  ]37 

pressed  with  the  importance  of  the  religious  ele 
ment,  and  he  felt  that  no  life  would  be  complete 
without  it.  lie  had  joined  the  Church  of  the  Dis 
ciples,  the  same  to  which  his  uncle  belonged,  and 
was  baptized  in  a  little  stream  that  runs  into  the 
Chagrin e  River.  The  creed  of  this  class  of  relig 
ious  believers  is  one  likely  to  commend  itself  in 
most  respects  to  the  general  company  of  Chris 
tians;  but  as  this  volume  is  designed  to  steer 
clear  of  sect  or  party,  I  do  not  hold  any  further 
reference  to  it  necessary.  What  concerns  us  more 
is,  that  young  Garfield,  in  accordance  with  the 
liberal  usages  of  the  Disciples,  was  invited  on  fre 
quent  occasions  to  officiate  as  a  lay  preacher  in  the 
absence  of  the  regular  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the 
Disciples  at  Hiram. 

Though  often  officiating  as  a  preacher,  I  do  not 
find  that  young  Garfield  ever  had  the  ministry 
in  view.  On  the  other  hand,  he  early  formed  the 
design  of  studying  for  the  legal  profession,  as  he 
gradually  did,  being  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Cuy- 
ahoga  County,  in  1860,  when  himself  president  of 

Hiram  College. 

i 

So  passed  three  busy  and  happy  years.  Young 
Garfield  had  but  few  idle  moments.  In  teaching 


138  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

others,  in  pursuing  his  own  education,  in  taking 
part  in  the  work  of  the  literary  society,  and  in 
Sunday  exhortations,  his  time  was  well  filled  up. 
But  neither  his  religion  nor  his  love  of  study  made 
him  less  companionable.  He  was  wonderfully 
popular.  His  hearty  grasp  of  the  hand,  his  genial 
manner,  his  entire  freedom  from  conceit,  his  read 
iness  to  help  others,  made  him  a  general  favorite. 
Some  yonng  men,  calling  themselves  religious, 
assume  a  sanctimonious  manner,  that  repels,  but 
James  Garfield  never  was  troubled  in  this  way. 
He  believed  that 

"  Religion  never  was  designed 
To  make  our  pleasures  less," 

and  was  always  ready  to  take  part  in  social  pleas 
ures,  provided  they  did  not  interfere  with  his 
work. 

And  all  this  while,  with  all  his  homely  sur 
roundings,  he  had  high  thoughts  for  company. 
He  wrote  to  a  student,  afterward  his  own  suc 
cessor  to  the  presidency,  words  that  truly  describe 
his  own  aspirations  and  habits  of  mind.  "  Tell 
me,  Burke,  do  you  not  feel  a  spirit  stirring  within 
you  that  longs  to  know,  to  do,  and  to  dare,  to  hold 


JAMES  A.    OAR  FIELD.  139 

converse  with,  the  great  world  of  thought,  and 
hold  before  you  some  high  and  noble  object  to 
which  the  vigor  of  your  mind  and  the  strength 
of  your  arm  may  be  given  ?  Do  you  not  have 
longings  like  these  which  you  breathe  to  no  one, 
and  which  you  feel  must  be  heeded,  or  you  will 
pass  through  life  unsatisfied  and  regretful  ?  I  am 
sure  you  have  them,  and  they  will  forever  cling 
round  your  heart  till  you  obey  their  mandate." 

The  time  had  come  when  James  was  ready  to 
take  another  step  upward.  The  district  school 
had  been  succeeded  by  Geauga  Seminary,  that  by 
Hiram  Institute,  and  now  he  looked  Eastward  for 
still  higher  educational  privileges.  There  wTas  a 
college  of  his  own  sect  at  Bethany,  not  far  away, 
but  the  young  man  was  not  so  blinded  by  this 
consideration  as  not  to  understand  that  it  was  not 
equal  to  some  of  the  best,  known  colleges  at  the 
East. 

Which  should  he  select  ? 

He  wrote  to  the  presidents  of  Brown  Univer 
sity,  Yale,  and  Williams,  stating  how  far  he  had 
advanced,  and  inquiring  how  long  it  would  take 
to  complete  their  course. 

From  all  he  received  answers,  but  the  one  from 


140  JAMES  A.   GAEFIELD. 

President  Hopkins,  of  Williams  College,  ended 
with  the  sentence,  "  If  you  come  here,  we  shall  be 
glad  to  do  what  we  can  for  you."  This  sentence, 
so  friendly  and  cordial,  decided  the  young  man, 
who  otherwise  would  have  found  it  hard  to  choose 
between  the  three  institutions. 

"  My  mind  is  made  up,"  he  said.  "  I  shall  start 
for -Williams  College  next  week." 

He  was  influenced  also  by  what  he  already 
knew  of  Dr.  Hopkins.  He  was  not  a  stranger  to 
the  high  character  of  his  intellect,  and  his  theo 
logical  reputation.  He  felt  that  here  was  a  man 
of  high  rank  in  letters  who  was  prepared  to  be  not 
only  his  teacher  and  guide,  but  his  personal  friend, 
and  for  this,  if  for  no  other  reason,  he  decided  in 
favor  of  Williams  College.  To  a  young  man  cir 
cumstanced  as  he  was,  a  word  of  friendly  sympathy 
meant  much. 


CHAPTER  XYI. 

» 

ENTERING   WILLIAMS    COLLEGE. 

JAMES  GAEFIELD  had  reached  the  mature  age 
of  twenty-two  years  when  he  made  his  first  en 
trance  into  Williamstown.  He  did  not  come 
quite  empty-handed.  He  had  paid  his  expenses 
while  at  Hiram,  and  earned  three  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  besides,  which  he  estimated  would 
carry  him  through  the  Junior  year.  He  was  tall 
and  slender,  with  a  great  shock  of  light  hair, 
rising  nearly  erect  from  a  broad,  high  forehead. 
His  face  was  open,  kindly,  and  thoughtful,  and  it 
did  not  require  keen  perception  of  character  to 
discern  something  above  the  common  in  the 
awkward  Western  youth,  in  his  decidedly  shabby 
raiment. 

Young  Garfield  would  probably  have  enjoyed 
the  novel  sensation  of  being  well  dressed,  but  he 
had  never  had  the  opportunity  of  knowing  how  it 

seemed.     That  ease  and  polish  of  manner  which 

(141) 


142  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

come  from  mingling  in  society  he  entirely  lacked. 
He  was  as  yet  a  rough,  diamond,  but  a  diamond 
for  all  that. 

Among  his  classmates  were  men  from  the  cities, 
who  stared  in  undisguised  amazement  at  the  tall, 
lanky  young  man  who  knocked  at  the  doors  of 
the  college  for  admission. 

"  Who  is  that  rough-looking  fellow  ? "  asked  a 
member  of  a  lower  class,  pointing  out  Garfield,  as 
he  was  crossing  the  college  campus. 

"  Oh,  that  is  Garfield ;  he  comes  from  the 
Western  Reserve." 

"  I  suppose  his  clothes  were  made  by  a  Western 
Reserve  tailor." 

"  Probably,"  answered  his  classmate,  smiling. 

"  He  looks  like  a  confirmed  rustic." 

"  That  is  true,  but  there  is  something  in  him. 
I  am  in  his  division,  and  I  can  tell  you  that  he 
has  plenty  of  talent." 

"  His  head  is  big  enough." 

"  Yes,  he  has  a  large  brain — a  sort  of  Web- 
sterian  intellect.  He  is  bound  to  be  heard  of." 

"  It  is  a  pity  he  is  so  awkward." 

u  Oh,  that  will  wear  off.  He  has  a  hearty, 
cordial  way  with  him,  and  though  at  first  we 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  143 

were  disposed  to  laugh  at  him,  we  begin  to  like 
him." 

"  He's  as  old  as  the  hills.  At  any  rate,  he 
looks  so." 

"  How  old  are  you  ? " 

"  Seventeen." 

"  Compared  with  you  he  is,  for  he  is  nearly 
twenty-three.  However,  it  is  never  too  late  to 
learn.  He  is  not  only  a  good  scholar,  but  he  is 
very  athletic,  and  there  are  few  in  college  who 
can  equal  him  in  athletic  sports." 

"Why  didn't  he  come  to  college  before  ?  What 
made  him  wait  till  he  was  an  old  man  ? " 

"  I  understand  that  he  has  had  a  hard  struggle 
with  poverty.  All  the  money  he  has  he  earned 
by  hard  labor.  Dr.  Hopkins  seems  to  have  taken 
a  liking  to  him.  I  saw  him  walking  with  the 
doctor  the  other  day." 

This  conversation  describes  pretty  accurately 
the  impression  made  by  Garh'eld  upon  his  class 
mates,  and  by  those  in  other  classes  who  became 
acquainted  with  him.  At  first  they  were  dis-* 
posed  to  laugh  at  the  tall,  awkward  young  man 
and  his  manners,  but  soon  his  real  ability,  and  his 
cordial,  social  ways  won  upon  all,  and  he  was  in- 


J44        BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

stalled  as  a  favorite.  The  boys  began  to  call  him 
Old  Gar,  and  regarded  him  with  friendship  and 
increasing  respect,  as  he  grew  and  developed 
intellectually,  and  they  began  to  see  what  manner 
of  man  he  was. 

Perhaps  the  readiest  way  for  a  collegian  to 
make  an  impression  upon  his  associates  is  to  show 
a  decided  talent  for  oratory.  They  soon  discov 
ered  at  Williams  that  Garfield  had  peculiar  gifts 
in  this  way.  His  speaking  at  clubs,  and  before 
the  church  of  his  communion  in  Hiram,  had  been 
for  him  a  valuable  training.  He  joined  a  society, 
and  soon  had  an  opportunity  of  showing  that  he 
was  a  ready  and  forcible  speaker. 

One  day  there  came  startling  news  to  the 
college.  Charles  Sumner  had  been  struck  down 
in  the  Senate  chamber  by  Preston  S.  Brooks,  of 
South  Carolina,  for  words  spoken  in  debate.  The 
hearts  of  the  students  throbbed  with  indignation— 
none  more  fiercely  than  young  Garfield 's.  At  an 
indignation  meeting  convened  by  the  students  he 
rose  and  delivered,  so  says  one  who  heard  him, 
"one  of  the  most  impassioned  and  eloquent 
speeches  ever  delivered  in  old  Williams." 

It  made  a  sensation. 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  145 

"  Did  you  hear  Old  Gar's  speech  at  the  meet 
ing  ? "  asked  one  of  another. 

"  No,  I  did  not  get  in  in  time." 

"  It  was  great.  I  never  heard  him  speak  better. 
Do  you  know  what  I  think  ? " 

"Well?" 

"  Gar  will  be  in  Congress  some  day  himself. 
He  has  rare  powers  of  debate,  and  is  a  born 
orator." 

"  I  shouldn't  wonder  myself  if  you  were  right. 
If  he  ever  reaches  Congress  he  will  do  credit  to 
old  Williams." 

James  had  given  up  his  trade  as  a  carpenter. 
He  was  no  longer  obliged  to  resort  to  it,  or,  at 
any  rate,  he  preferred  to  earn  money  in  a  dif 
ferent  way.  So  one  winter  he  taught  penmanship 
at  North  Fownal,  in  Yermont,  a  post  for  which 
he  was  qualified,  for  he  had  a  strong,  bold,  hand 
some  hand. 

"  Did  you  know  Mr.  Arthur,  who  taught  school 
here  last  winter  ? "  asked  one  of  his  writing  pupils 
of  young  Garfield. 

"  ~No  ;  he  was  not  a  student  of  Williams." 

"  He  graduated  at  Union  College,  I  believe." 

"  Was  he  a  good  teacher? " 

10 


146  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

"Yes,  he  was  very  successful,  keeping  order 
without  any  trouble,  though  the  school  is  consid 
ered  a  hard  one." 

This  was  Chester  A.  Arthur,  whose  name  in 
after  years  was  to  be  associated  with  that  of  the 
writing-teacher,  who  was  occupying  ths  same 
room  as  his  Presidential  successor.  But  to 
James  Garfield,  at  that  time,  the  name  meant 
nothing,  and  it  never  occurred  to  him  what  high 
plans  Providence  had  for  them  both.  It  was  one 
of  those  remarkable  cases  in  which  the  paths  of 
two  men  who  are  joined  in  destiny  traverse  each 
other.  "Was  it  not  strange  that  two  future  occu 
pants  of  the  Presidential  chair  should  be  found 
teaching  in  the  same  school-room,  in  an  obscure 
Yermont  village,  two  successive  winters  ? 

As  the  reader,  though  this  is  the  biography  of 
Garfield,  may  feel  a  curiosity  to  learn  what  sort 
of  a  teacher  Arthur  was,  I  shall,  without  apology, 
conclude  this  chapter  with  the  story  of  a  pupil  of 
his  who,  in  the  year  1853,  attended  the  district 
school  at  Cohoes,  then  taught  by  Chester  A. 
Arthur.  I  find  it  in  the  Troy  Times : 

"  In  the  year  1853  the  writer  attended  the 
district  school  at  Cohoes.  The  high  department 


JAMES  A.   G  Alt  FIELD.  147 

did  not  enjoy  a  very  enviable  reputation  for  being 
possessed  of  that  respect  due  from  the  pupils  to 
teacher.  During  the  year  there  had  been  at  least 
four  teachers  in  that  department,  the  last  one  only 
remaining  one  week.  The  Board  of  Education 
had  found  it  difficult  to  obtain  a  pedagogue  to 
take  charge  of  the  school,  until  a  young  man, 
slender  as  a  May-pole  and  six  feet  high  in  his 
stockings,  applied  for  the  place.  He  was  engaged 
at  once,  although  he  was  previously  informed  of 
the  kind  of  timber  he  would  be  obliged  to  hew. 

"  Promptly  at  nine  o'clock  A.M.  every  scholar 
was  on  hand  to  welcome  the  man  who  had  said 
that  he  would  '  conquer  the  school  or  forfeit  hie 
reputation.'  Having  called  the  morning  session 
to  order,  he  said  that  he  had  been  engaged  to  take 
charge  of  the  school.  He  came  with  his  mind 
prejudiced  against  the  place.  He  had  heard  of 
the  treatment  of  the  former  teachers  by  the 
pupils,  yet  he  was  not  at  all  embarrassed,  for  he 
felt  that,  with  the  proper  recognition  of  each 
other's  rights,  teacher  and  scholars,  could  live  to 
gether  in  harmony.  He  did  not  intend  to 
threaten,  but  he  intended  to  make  the  scholars 
obey  him,  and  would  try  and  win  the  good-will  of 


148  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

all  present.  He  had  been  engaged  to  take  charge 
of  that  room,  and  he  wished  the  co-operation  of 
every  pupil  in  so  doing.  He  had  no  club, 
ruler,  or  whip,  but  appealed  directly  to  the  hearts 
of  every  young  man  and  young  lady  in  the  room. 
Whatever  he  should  do,  he  would  at  least  show 
to  the  people  of  this  place  that  this  school  could 
be  governed.  He  spoke  thus  and  feelingly  at 
times,  yet  with  perfect  dignity  he  displayed  that 
executive  ability  which  in  after  years  made  him. 
such  a  prominent  man.  Of  course  the  people, 
especially  the  boys,  had  heard  fine  words  spoken 
before,  and  at  once  a  little  smile  seemed  to  flit 
across  the  faces  of  the  leading  spirits  in  past  re 
bellions. 

"  The  work  of  the  forenoon  began,  when  a  lad 
of  sixteen  placed  a  marble  between  his  thumb  and 
finger,  and,  with  a  snap,  sent  it  rolling  across  the 
floor.  As  the  tall  and  handsome  teacher  saw  this 
act,  he  arose  from  his  seat,  and,  without  a  word, 
walked  toward  the  lad. 

"  f  Get  up,  sir,'  he  said. 

"  The  lad  looked  at  him  to  see  if  he  was  in 
earnest ;  then  he  cast  his  eyes  toward  the  large  boys 
to  see  if  they  were  not  going  to  take  up  his  defense. 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  ^49 

"'  Get  up,  sir,'  said  the  teacher  a  second  time, 
and  he  took  him  by  the  collar  of  his  jacket  as  if 
to  raise  him.  The  lad  saw  he  had  no  common 
man  to  deal  with,  and  he  rose  from  his  seat. 

"  c  Follow  me,  sir,'  calmly  spoke  the  teacher, 
and  he  led  the  way  toward  the  hall,  while  the 
boy  began  to  tremble,  wondering  if  the  new 
teacher  was  going  to  take  him  out  and  kill  him. 
The  primary  department  was  presided  over  by  a 
sister  of  the  new  teacher,  and  into  this  room  he 
led  the  young  transgressor. 

"  Turning  to  his  sister  he  said  :  *  I  have  a  pupil 
for  you ;  select  a  seat  for  him,  and  let  him  remain 
here.  If  he  makes  any  disturbance  whatever, 
inform  me.'  Turning  to  the  boy  he  said  :  f  Young 
man,  mind  your  teacher,  and  do  not  leave  your 
seat  until  I  give  permission,'  and  he  was  gone. 

"  The  lad  sat  there,  feeling  very  sheepish,  and 
as  misery  loves  company,  it  was  not  long  before 
he  was  gratified  to  see  the  door  open  and  observe 
his  seat-mate  enter  with  the  new  teacher,  who  re 
peated  the  previous  orders,  when  he  quietly  and 
with  dignity  withdrew. 

{/  The  number  was  subsequently  increased  to 
three,  the  teacher  returning  each  time  without  a 


150  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

word  to  the  other  scholars  concerning  the  disposi 
tion  made  of  the  refractory  lads.  The  effect  upon 
the  rest  of  the  school  was  remarkable.  As  no 
intimation  of  the  disposition  of  the  boys  was 
given,  not  a  shade  of  anger  displayed  on  the 
countenance  of  the  new  teacher,  nor  any  appear 
ances  of  blood  were  noticeable  upon  his  hands, 
speculation  was  rife  as  to  what  he  had  done  with 
the  three  chaps.  He  spoke  kindly  to  all,  smiled 
upon  the  scholars  who  did  well  in  their  classes, 
and  seemed  to  inspire  all  present  with  the  truth 
of  his  remarks  uttered  at  the  opening  of  the 
session. 

"  At  recess  the  mystery  that  had  enveloped  the 
school  was  cleared  away,  for  the  three  lads  in  the 
primary  department  were  seen  as  the  rest  of  the 
scholars  filed  by  the  door.  While  all  the  rest  en 
joyed  the  recess,  the  three  lads  were  obliged  to 
remain  in  their  seats,  and  when  school  was  dis 
missed  for  the  forenoon,  the  new  teacher  entered 
the  primary-room,  and  was  alone  with  the  young 
offenders.  He  sat  down  by  them,  and  like  a 
father  talked  kindly  and  gave  good  advice.  No 
parent  ever  used  more  fitting  words  nor  more  im 
pressed  his  offspring  with  the  fitness  thereof  than 


JAMES  A.    OARF1ELD.  151 

did  the  new  teacher.  Dismissing  them,  he  told 
them  to  go  home,  and  when  they  returned  to 
school  to  be  good  boys. 

"  That  afternoon  the  boys  were  in  their  seats, 
and  in  two  weeks'  time  there  was  not  a  scholar  in 
the  room  who  would  not  do  anything  the  teacher 
asked.  He  was  beloved  by  all,  and  his  quiet 
manner  and  cool,  dignified  ways  made  him  a  great 
favorite.  He  only  taught  two  terms,  and  every 
reasonable  inducement  was  offered  to  prevail 
upon  him  to  remain,  but  without  avail.  His 
reply  was :  1 1  have  accomplished  all  I  intended, 
namely,  conquered  what  you  thought  was  a  wild 
lot  of  boys,  and  received  the  discipline  that  I  re 
quired.  I  regret  leaving  my  charge,  for  I  have 
learned  to  love  them,  but  I  am  to  enter  a  law 
office  at  once.5 

"  That  teacher  was  Chester  A.  Arthur,  now 
President  of  the"  United  States ;  the  teacher  of 
the  primary  department  was  his  sister,  now  Mrs. 
Hayiiesworth,  and  the  first  of  the  three  refractory 
boys  was  the  writer.  When  it  was  announced 
that  our  beloved  teacher  was  to  leave  us,  many 
tears  were  shed  by  his  scholars,  and  as  a  slight 
token  of  our  love,  we  presented  him  with  an 
elegant  volume  of  poems." 


CEAPTEE  XVII. 

LIFE    IN    COLLEGE. 

PROBABLY  young  Garfield  never  passed  two 
happier  or  more  profitable  years  than  at  Williams 
College.  The  Seminaries  he  had  hitherto  at 
tended  were  respectable,  but  in  the  nature  of 
things  they  could  not  afford  the  facilities  which 
he  now  enjoyed.  Despite  his  years  of  study  and 
struggle  there  were  many  things  in  which  he  was 
wholly  deficient.  He  had  studied  Latin,  Greek, 
and  mathematics,  but  of  English  literature  he  knew 
but  little.  He  had  never  had  time  to  read  for 
recreation,  or  for  that  higher  culture  which  is  not 
to  be  learned  in  the  class-room. 

In  the  library  of  Williams  College  he  made 
his  first  acquaintance  with  Shakespeare,  and  we 
can  understand  what  a  revelation  his  works  must 
have  been  to  the  aspiring  youth.  He  had  ab 
stained  from  reading  fiction,  doubting  whether  it 

was  profitable,  since  the  early  days  when  with  a 
(152) 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  153 

thrill  of  boyish  excitement  lie  read  "  Sinbad  the 
Sailor"  and  Marryatt's  novels.  After  a  while  his 
views  as  to  the  utility  of  fiction  changed.  He 
found  that  his  mind  wras  suffering  from  the  solid 
food  to  which  it  was  restricted,  and  he  began  to 
make  incursions  into  the  realm  of  poetry  and 
fiction  with  excellent  results.  He  usually  limited 
this  kind  of  reading,  and  did  not  neglect  for  the 
fascination  of  romance  those  more  solid  works 
which  should  form  the  staple  of  a  young  man's 
reading. 

It  is  well  known  that  among  poets  Tennyson 
was  his  favorite,  so  that  in  after  years,  when  at 
fifteen  minutes'  notice,  on  the  first  anniversary  of 
Lincoln's  assassination,  he  was  called  upon  to 
move  an  adjournment  of  the  House,  as  a  mark 
of  respect  to  the  martyred  President,  he  was  able 
from  memory  to  quote  in  his  brief  speech,  as 
applicable  to  Lincoln,  the  poet's  description  of 

some 

"Divinely  gifted  man, 
Whose  life  in  low  estate  began, 
And  on  a  simple  village  green. 

Who  breaks  his  birth's  invidious  bars, 
And  grasped  the  skirts  of  happy  chance, 
And  breasts  the  blows  of  circumstance, 
And  grapples  with  his  evil  stars; 


154  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

Who  makes  by  force  his  merit  known, 
And  lives  to  clutch  the  golden  keys 
To  mould  a  mighty  state's  decrees, 

And  shape  the  whisper  of  the  throne ; 

And  moving  up  from  high  to  higher, 
Becomes  on  Fortune's  crowning  slope 
The  pillar  of  a  people's  hope, 

The  center  of  a  world's  desire." 

I  am  only  repeating  the  remark  made  by  many 
when  I  call  attention  to  the  fitness  of  this  de 
scription  to  Garfield  himself. 

Our  young  student  was  fortunate  in  possessing 
a  most  retentive  memory.  What  lie  liked,  es 
pecially  in  the  works  of  his  favorite  poet,  was  so 
impressed  upon  his  memory  that  he  could  recite 
extracts  by  the  hour.  This  will  enable  the  reader 
to  understand  how  thoroughly  he  studied,  and 
how  readily  he  mastered,  those  branches  of  knowl 
edge  to  which  his  attention  was  drawn.  When 
in  after  years  in  Congress  some  great  public  ques 
tion  came  up,  which  required  hard  study,  it  was 
the  custom  of  his  party  friends  to  leave  Garfield 
to  study  it,  with  the  knowledge  that  in  due  time 
he  would  be  ready  with  a  luminous  exposition 
which  would  supply  to  them  the  place  of  individ 
ual  study. 

Young  Garfield  was  anxious  to  learn  the  Ian- 


JAMES  A.    QARF1ELD.  155 

guage  of  Goetlie  and  Schiller,  and  embraced  the 
opportunity  afforded  at  college  to  enter  upon  the 
study  of  German.  He  was  not  content  with  a 
mere  smattering,  but  learned  it  well  enough  to 
converse  in  it  as  well  as  to  read  it. 

So  most  profitably  the  Junior  year  was  spent, 
but  unhappily  James  had  spent  all  the  money 
which  he  had  brought  with  him.  Should  he  leave 
college  to  earn  more  2  Fortunately,  this  was  not 
necessary.  Thomas  Garfield,  always  unselfishly 
devoted  to  the  family,  hoped  to  supply  his 
younger  brother  with  the  necessary  sum,  in  in 
stallments;  but  proving  unable,  his  old  friend, 
Dr.  Robinson,  came  to  his  assistance. 

"  You  can  pay  me  when  you  are  able,  James," 
he  said. 

"  If  1  live  I  will  pay  you,  doctor.  If  I  do 
not " 

He  paused,  for  an  idea  struck  him. 

"I  will  insure  my  life  for  eight  hundred 
dollars,"  he  continued,  "  and  place  the  policy  in 
your  hands.  Then,  whether  I  live  or  die,  you 
will  be  secure." 

"  I  do  not  require  this,  James,"  said  the  doctor, 
kindly. 


156  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

"  Then  I  feel  all  the  more  under  obligations  to 
secure  you  in  return  for  your  generous  confi 
dence." 

It  was  a  sensible  and  business-like  proposal, 
and  the  doctor  assented.  The  strong,  vigorous 
young  man  had  no  difficulty  in  securing  a  policy 
from  a  reputable  company,  and  went  back  to 
college  at  the  commencement  of  the  Senior  year. 
I  wish  to  add  that  the  young  man  scrupulously 
repaid  the  good  doctor's  timely  loan,  for  had  he 
failed  to  do  so,  I  could  not  have  held  him  up  to 
my  young  readers  as  in  all  respects  a  model. 

There  was  published  at  Williams  College,  in 
Garfield's  time,  a  magazine  called  the  Williams 
Quarterly.  To  this  the  young  man  became  a 
frequent  contributor.  In  Gen.  James  S.  Brisbin's 
campaign  Life  of  Garfield,  I  find  three  of  his 
poetic  contributions  quoted,  two  of  which  I  will 
also  transfer  to  my  pages,  as  likely  to  possess 
some  interest  for  my  young  reader.  The  first  is 
called 

"THE  CHARGE  OP  THE  LIGHT  BRIGADE," 
and  commences  thus : 

"  Bottles  to  right  of  them, 
Bottles  to  left  of  them, 


JAMES  A.   OAR  FIELD.  157 

Bottles  in  front  of  them, 

Fizzled  and  sundered; 
Ent'ring  with  shout  and  yell, 
Boldly  they  drank  and  well, 
They  caught  the  Tartar  then ; 
Oh,  what  a  perfect  sell  I 

Sold — the  half  hundred  ! 
Grinned  all  the  dentals  bare, 
Swung  all  their  caps  in  air, 
Uncorking  bottles  there, 
Watching  the  Freshmen,  while 

Every  one  wondered; 
Plunged  in  tobacco  smoke, 
With  many  a  desperate  stroke, 
Dozens  of  bottles  broke ; 
Then  they  came  back,  but  not, 

Not  the  half  hundred !  " 

Lest  from  this  merry  squib,  which  doubtless 
celebrated  some  college  prank,  wrong  conclusions 
should  be  drawn,  I  hasten  to  say  that  in  college 
James  Garfield  neither  drank  nor  smoked. 

The  next  poem  is  rather  long,  but  it  possesses 
interest  as  a  serious  production  of  one  whose 
name  has  become  a  household  word.  It  is 

entitled 

"MEMORY. 

"  'Tis  beauteous  night;  the  stars  look  brightly  down 
Upon  the  earth,  decked  in  her  robe  of  snow. 
No  light  gleams  at  the  window  save  my  own, 
Which  gives  its  cheer  to  midnight  and  to  me. 


158  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

And  now  with  noiseless  step  sweet  Memory  comes, 

And  leads  me  gently  through  her  twilight  realms. 

What  poet's  tuneful  lyre  has  ever  sung, 

Or  delicatest  pencil  e'er  portrayed 

The    enchanted,    shadowy    land    where    Memory 

dwells  ? 

It  has  its  valleys,  cheerless,  lone,  and  drear, 
Dark-shaded  by  the  lonely  cypress  tree. 
And  yet  its  sunlit  mountain  tops  are  bathed 
In  heaven's  own  blue.     Upon  its  craggy  cliffs, 
Robed  in  the  dreamy  light  of  distant  years, 
Are  clustered  joys  serene  of  other  days; 
Upon  its  gently  sloping  hillside's  bank 
The  weeping-willows  o'er  the  sacred  dust 
Of  dear  departed  ones;  and  yet  in  that  land, 
Where'er  our  footsteps  fall  upon  the  shore, 
They  that  were  sleeping  rise  from  out  the  dust 
Of  death's  long,  silent  years,  and  round  us  stand, 
As  erst  they  did  before  the  prison  tomb 
Received  their  clay  within  its  voiceless  halls. 

u  The  heavens  that  bend  above  that  land  are  hung 
With  clouds  of  various  hues;  some  dark  and  chill, 
Surcharged  with  sorrow,  cast  their  sombre  shade 
Upon  the  sunny,  joyous  land  below; 
Others  are  floating  through  the  dreamy  air, 
White  as  the  falling  snow,  their  margins  tinged 
With  gold  and  crimson  hues;  their  shadows  fall 
Upon  the  flowery  meads  and  sunny  slopes, 
Soft  as  the  shadows  of  an  angel's  wing. 
When  the  rough  battle  of  the  day  is  done, 
And  evening's  peace  falls  gently  on  the  heart, 
I  bound  away  across  the  noisy  years, 
Unto  the  utmost  verge  of  Memory's  land, 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  ]  59 

Where  earth  and  sky  in  dreamy  distance  meet, 

And  Memory  dim  with  dark  oblivion  joins; 

Where  woke  the  first  remembered  sounds  that  fell 

Upo.ii  the  ear  in  childhood's  early  morn ; 

And  wandering  thence  along  the  rolling  years, 

I  see  the  shadow  of  my  former  self 

Gliding  from  childhood  up  to  man's  estate. 

The  path  of  youth  winds  down  through  many  a 

vale, 

And  on  the  brink  of  many  a  dread  abyss, 
From  out  whose  darkness  comes  no  ray  of  light, 
Save  that  a  phantom  dances  o'er  the  gulf, 
And  beckons  toward  the  verge.    Again,  the  path 
Leads  o'er  a  summit  where  the  sunbeams  fall; 
And  thus,  in  light  and  shade,  sunshine  and  gloom, 
Sorrow  and  joy,  this  life-path  leads  along." 

During  the  year  1856  young  Garn'eld  was  one 
of  the  editors  of  the  college  magazine,  from  which 
the  above  extracts  are  made.  The  hours  spent 
upon  his  contributions  to  its  pages  were  doubtless 
well  spent.  Here,  to  use  his  own  words,  he 
learned  "  to  hurl  the  lance  and  wield  the  sword, 
and  thus  prepare  for  the  conflict  of  life."  More 
than  one  whose  names  have  since  become  con 
spicuous  contributed  to  it  while  under  his  charge. 
Among  these  were  Professor  Chadbourne,  S.  G. 
W.  Benjamin,  Horace  E.  Scudder,  W.  E.  Dim- 
mock,  and  John  Savary.  The  last-named,  now 
resident  in  Washington,  has  printed,  since  his 


160  JAMES  A.    GAEFIELD. 

old  friend's  death,  a  series  of  sonnets,  from  which 
I  quote  one : 

"  How  many  and  how  great  concerns  of  state 
Lie  at  the  mercy  of  the  meanest  things ! 
This  man,  the  peer  of  presidents  and  kings; 

Nay,  first  among  them,  passed  through  dangers  gate 

In  war  unscathed,  and  perils  out  of  date, 

To  meet  a  fool  whose  pistol-shot  yet  rings 
Around  the  world,  and  at  mere  greatness  flings 

The  cruel  sneer  of  destiny  or  fate  ! 

Yet  hath  he  made  the  fool  fanatic  foil 

To  valor,  patience,  nobleness,  and  wit ! 
Nor  had  the  world  known,  but  because  of  it, 

What  virtues  grow  in  suffering's  sacred  soil. 
The  shot  which  opened  like  a  crack  of  hell, 
Made  all  hearts  stream  with  sacred  pity's  well, 
And  showed  that  unity  in  which  we  dwell.'' 


CHAPTER  XYIII. 

THE    CANAL-BOY   BECOMES     A    COLLEGE    PRESIDENT. 

DURING  his  second  winter  vacation  a  great 
temptation  assailed  James.  It  was  not  a  tempta 
tion  to  do  wrong.  That  he  could  easily  have 
resisted. 

I  must  explain. 

At  Prestenkill,  a  country  village  six  miles  from 
Troy,  K.  Y.,  the  young  student  organized 
a  writing  school,  to  help  defray  his  expenses. 
Having  occasion  to  visit  Troy,  his  interest  in  edu 
cation  led  him  to  form  an  acquaintance  with  some 
of  the  teachers  and  directors  of  the  public  schools. 

One  of  these  gentlemen,  while  walking  with 
him  over  the  sloping  sides  of  a  hill  overlooking 
the  city,  said :  "  Mr.  Garfield,  I  have  a  proposi 
tion  to  make  to  you." 

The  student  listened  with  interest. 

"  There   is   a   vacancy   in   one   of   our  public 

schools.     We  want  an  experienced  teacher,  and  I 
1 1  (161) 


1(J2  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

am  sure  you  will  suit  us.  I  offer  you  the  place, 
with  a  salary  of  twelve  hundred  dollars  a  year. 
What  do  you  say  ? " 

The  young  mart's  heart  beat  for  a  moment  with 
irrepressible  excitement.  It  was  a  strong  tempta 
tion.  He  was  offered,  deducting  vacations,  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  a  month, 
while  heretofore  his  highest  wages  had  been  but 
eighteen  dollars  per  month  and  board.  Moreover, 
he  could  marry  at  once  the  young  lady  to  whom 
he  had  been  for  years  engaged. 

He  considered  the  offer  a  moment,  and  this  was 
his  answer : 

"  You  are  not  Satan  and  I  am  not  Jesus,  but  we 
are  upon  the  mountain,  and  you  have  tempted  me 
powerfully.  I  think  I  must  say,  '  Get  thee  be 
hind  me  ! '  I  am  poor,  and  the  salary  would  soon 
pay  my  debts  and  place  me  in  a  position  of  inde 
pendence  ;  but  there  are  two  objections.  I  could 
not  accomplish  my  resolution  to  complete  a 
college  course,  and  should  be  crippled  intel 
lectually  for  life.  Then,  my  roots  are  all  fixed  in 
Ohio,  where  people  know  me  and  I  know  them, 
and  this  transplanting  might  not  succeed  as  well 
in  the  long  run  as  to  go  back  home  and  work  for 
smaller  pay." 


JAMES  A.   OARFIELD.  1(53 

So  the  young  man  decided  adversely,  and  it 
looks  as  if  his  decision  was  a  wise  one.  It  is 
interesting  to  conjecture  what  would  have  been 
his  future  position  had  he  left  college  and  accepted 
the  school  then  offered  him.  He  might  still  have 
been  a  teacher,  well  known  and  of  high  repute, 
but  of  fame  merely  local,  and  without  a  thought 
of  the  brilliant  destiny  he  had  foregone. 

So  he  went  back  to  college,  and  in  the  summer 
of  1856  he  graduated,  carrying  off  the  highest 
honor — the  metaphysical  oration.  His  class  was 
a  brilliant  one.  Three  became  general  officers 
during  the  rebellion — Garfield,  Daviess,  and 
Thompson.  Rockwell's  name  is  well  known  in 
official  circles ;  Gilfillan  is  Treasurer  of  the  United 
States.  There  are  others  who  fill  prominent 
positions.  In  the  class  above  him  was  the  late 
lion.  Phineas  W.  Hitchcock,  who  for  six  years 
represented  Nebraska  in  the  United  States 
Senate — like  Garfield,  the  architect  of  his  own 
fortunes. 

"  What  are  your  plans,  Garfield  ? "  asked  a  class 
mate  but  a  short  time  before  graduation. 

"1  am  going  back  to  Ohio,  to  teach  in  the 
school  where  I  prepared  for  college." 


164  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

"  What  is  the  name  of  the  school  ? " 

tc  Hiram  Institute." 

"  I  never  heard  of  it." 

"  It  has  only  a  local  reputation." 

"  Will  you  get  a  high  salary  ? " 

"  No ;  the  institute  is  poor,  and  can  pay  me  but 
little." 

"  I  think  you  are  making  a  mistake." 

"Why  BO?" 

"You  are  our  best  scholar,  and  no  one  can 
rival  you  in  speaking  in  the  societies.  You 
should  study  law,  and  then  go  to  one  of  our  large 
cities  and  build  up  a  reputation,  instead  of  bury 
ing  yourself  in  an  out-of-the-way  Ohio  town, 
where  you  may  live  and  die  without  the  world 
hearing  of  you." 

u  Thank  you  for  your  good  opinion  of  me.  I 
am  not  sure  whether  I  deserve  it,  but  if  I  do,  I 
shall  come  to  the  surface  some  day.  Meanwhile, 
to  this  humble  school  (it  was  not  yet  a  college)  I 
owe  a  large  debt  of  gratitude.  I  am  under  a 
promise  to  go  back  and  do  what  I  can  to  pay  that 
debt." 

"In  doing  so  you  may  sacrifice  your  own 
prospects." 


JAMES  A.   GARF1KLD.  KJ5 

"  I  hope  not.  At  any  rate,  my  mind  is  made 
up." 

"  Oh,  well,  in  that  case  I  will  say  no  more.  I 
know  that  if  your  mind  is  made  up,  you  are 
bound  to  go.  Only,  years  hence  you  will  think  of 
my  warning." 

"  At  any  rate,"  said  Garfield,  cordially,  "  I 
shall  bear  in  mind  the  interest  you  have  shown  in 
me.  You  may  be  right — I  admit  that — but  I 
feel  that  it  is  my  duty  to  go." 

I  doubt  whether  any  man  of  great  powers  can 
permanently  bury  himself,  no  matter  how  obscure 
the  position  which  he  chooses.  Sooner  or  later 
the  world  will  find  him  out,  and  he  will  be  lifted 
to  his  rightful  place.  When  General  Grant  occu 
pied  a  desk  in  the  office  of  a  lawyer  in  St.  Louis, 
and  made  a  precarious  living  by  collecting  bills,  it 
didn't  look  as  if  Fame  had  a  niche  for  him ;  but 
occasion  came,  and  lifted  him  to  distinction.  So 
1  must  confess  that  the  young  graduate  seemed 
to  be  making  a  mistake  when,  turning  his  back 
upon  Williams  College,  he  sought  the  humble 
institution  where  he  had  taught,  as  a  pupil-teacher, 
two  years  before,  and  occupied  a  place  as  in 
structor,  with  an  humble  salary.  But  even  here 


IQQ  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

there  was  promotion  for  him.  A  year  later,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-six,  he  was  made  president  of 
the  institution.  It  was  not,  perhaps,  a  lofty  posi 
tion,  for  though  Hiram  Institute  now  became 
Hiram  College,  it  was  not  a  college  in  the  J^ew 
England  sense,  but  rather  a  superior  academy. 

Let  us  pause  a  minute  and  see  what  changes 
e  taken  place  in  ten  years. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  Jimmy  Garfieldwas  glad 
to  get  a  chance  to  drive  a  couple  of  mules  on  the 
tow-path  of  the  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  Canal. 
The  ragged,  homespun  boy  had  disappeared.  In 
his  place  we  find  James  A.  Garfield,  A.B.,  presi 
dent  of  a  Western  college — a  man  of  education 
and  culture.  And  how  has  this  change  been 
brought  about  ?  By  energy,  perseverance,  and  a 
resolute  purpose — a  soul  that  poverty  could  not 
daunt,  an  ambition  which  shrank  from  no  hard 
ship,  and  no  amount  of  labor.  They  have  been 
years  of  toil,  for  it  takes  time  to  transform  a  raw 
and  ignorant  country  lad  into  a  college  president ; 
but  the  toil  has  not  harmed  him — the  poverty  has 
not  cramped  him,  nor  crippled  his  energies. 
"  Poverty  is  very  inconvenient,"  he  said  on  one 
occasion,  in  speaking  of  those  early  years,  "  but  it 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 


is  a  fine  spur  to  activity,  and  may  be  made  a  rich 
blessing." 

The  young  man  now  had  an  assured  income  ; 
not  a  large  one,  but  Hiram  was  but  an  humble 
village.  No  fashionable  people  lived  there. 
The  people  were  plain  in  their  tastes,  and  he 
could  live  as  well  as  the  best  without  difficulty. 
lie  was  employed  in  a  way  that  interested  and 
pleased  him,  and  but  one  thing  seemed  wanting. 
His  heart  had  never  swerved  from  the  young  lady 
with  whom  he  first  became  acquainted  at  Geauga, 
to  whom  he  was  more  closely  drawn  at  Hiram, 
and  to  whom  now  for  some  years  he  had  been  be 
trothed.  He  felt  that  he  could  now  afford  to  be 
married  ;  and  so  Lucretia  Rudolph  became  Mrs. 
Garfield  —  a  name  loved  and  honored,  for  her  sake 
as  well  as  his,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  our  land.  She,  too,  had  been  busily  and  use 
fully  employed  in  these  intervening  years.  This 
is  what  Mr.  Philo  Chamberlain,  of  Cleveland, 
already  quoted  in  these  pages,  has  to  say  of  the 
young  president's  wife  : 

"•  Yes,  indeed,  I  know  Mrs.  Garfield.  My  wife 
knows  her  intimately.  They  used  to  teach  school 
together  in  Cleveland.  Mrs.  Garfield  is  a  splendid 


1(38  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

lady.  She  wasn't  what  you  would  call  a  brilliant 
teacher,  but  she  was  an  unusually  good  one,  very 
industrious,  and  the  children  made  rapid  progress 
in  their  studies  under  her.  And  then  she  was 
studious,  too.  Why,  she  acquired  three  lan 
guages  while  she  was  in  school,  both  as  a  student 
and  a  teacher,  and  she  spoke  them  well,  I  arn 
told." 

This  was  the  wife  that  Garfield  selected,  and 
he  found  her  indeed  a  helper  and  a  sympathizer 
in  all  his  sorrows  and  joys.  She  has  proved 
equal  to  any  position  to  which  the  rising  fame  of 
her  husband  lifted  her.  Less  than  a  year  ago  her 
husband  said  of  her :  "  I  have  been  wonderfully 
blessed  in  the  discretion  of  my  wife.  She  is  one 
of  the  coolest  and  best-balanced  women  I  ever 
saw.  She  is  unstampedable.  There  has  not  been 
one  solitary  instance  in  my  public  career  when  I 
suffered  in  the  smallest  degree  for  any  remark 
she  ever  made.  It  would  have  been  perfectly 
natural  for  a  woman  often  to  say  something  that, 
could  be  misinterpreted;  but,  without  any  design, 
and  with  the  intelligence  and  coolness  of  her 
character,  she  has  never  made  the  slightest  mis 
take  that  I  ever  heard  of.  With  the  competition 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  1(59 

that  has  been  against  me,  such  discretion  has  been 
a  real  blessing." 

Public  men  who  have  risen  from  humble  be 
ginnings  often  suffer  from  the  mistakes  of  wives 
who  have  remained  stationary,  and  are  unfitted 
to  sympathize  with  them  in  the  larger  life  of  their 
husbands.  But  as  James  A.  Garfield  grew  in  the 
public  esteem,  and  honors  crowded  upon  him, 
step  by  step  his  wife  kept  pace  with  him,  and 
was  at  all  times  a  fitting  and  sympathetic  com 
panion  and  helpmeet. 

They  commenced  housekeeping  in  a  neat  little 
cottage  fronting  the  college  campus ;  and  so  their 
wedded  life  began.  It  was  a  modest  home,  but  a 
happy  one,  and  doubtless  both  enjoyed  more 
happy  hours  than  in  the  White  House,  even  had 
the  last  sorrowful  tragedy  never  been  enacted. 
As  President,  James  A.  Garfield  belonged  to  the 
nation ;  as  the  head  of  Hiram  College,  to  his 
family.  Greatness  has  its  penalties,  and  a  low 
estate  its  compensations. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

GAEFIELD   AS   A    COLLEGE   PRESIDENT. 


James  Garfield  presented  himself  at 
Hiram,  an  awkward,  overgrown  boy  of  nineteen, 
in  his  rustic  garb,  and  humbly  asked  for  the  posi 
tion  of  janitor  and  bell-ringer,  suppose  the  trus 
tees  had  been  told,  "  In  seven  years  your  institute 
will  have  developed  into  a  college,  and  that  boy 
will  be  the  president,"  we  can  imagine  their 
amazement. 

Yet  it  had  all  come  true.  Nowhere,  perhaps, 
but  in  America  could  such  a  thing  have  happened, 
and  even  here  it  seldom  happens  that  such  an  up 
ward  stride  is  made  in  so  short  a  time. 

After  all,  however,  the  important  question  to 
consider  is,  "  What  sort  of  a  college  president  did 
this  humble  canal-boy,  who  counted  it  promotion 
when  he  was  elected  a  janitor  and  bell-ringer, 
become?" 

For  information  upon  this  point,  we  go  to  one 
(170) 


JAMES  A.    QARFIELD.  \^\ 

of  his  pupils,  Rev.  I.  L.  Darsie,  of   Danbury, 
Conn.,  who  writes  as  follows : 

"  I  attended  the  Western  Reserve  Institute 
when  Gartield  was  principal,  and  I  recall  vividly 
his  method  of  teaching.  He  took  very  kindly  to 
me,  and  assisted  me  in  various  ways,  because  I 
was  poor,  and  was  janitor  of  the  buildings,  and 
swept  them  out  in  the  morning  and  built  the 
fires,  as  he  had  done  only  six  years  before,  when 
he  was  a  pupil  in  the  same  college.  He  was  full 
of  animal  spirits,  and  used  to  run  out  on  the  green 
every  day  and  play  cricket  with  his  scholars.  He 
was  a  tall,  strong  man,  but  dreadfully  awkward. 
Every  now  and  then  he  would  get  a  hit,  and  he 
muffed  his  ball  and  lost  his  hat  as  a  regular 
thing.*  He  was  left-handed,  too,  and  that  made 
him  seem  all  the  clumsier.  But  he  was  most 
powerful  and  very  quick,  and  it  was  easy  for  us 
to  understand  how  it  was  that  he  had  acquired  the 
reputation  of  whipping  all  the  other  mule-drivers 


*  I  have  seen  it  somewhere  stated  that  when  a 
Congressman  at  Washington  he  retained  his  interest 
in  the  game  of  base-ball,  and  always  was  in  attend 
ance  when  it  was  possible,  at  a  game  between  two 
professional  clubs. 


1<J2  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

on  the  canal,  and  of  making  himself  the  hero  of 
that  thoroughfare,  when  he  followed  its  tow-path, 
only  ten  years  earlier. 

"  No  matter  how  old  the  pupils  were,  Garfield 
always  called  us  by  our  first  names,  and  kept  him 
self  on  the  most  intimate  terms  with  all.  lie 
played  with  us  freely,  and  we  treated  him  out  of 
the  class-room  just  about  as  we  did  one  another. 
Yet  he  was  a  most  strict  disciplinarian,  and  en 
forced  the  rules  like  a  martinet.  He  combined 
an  affectionate  and  confiding  manner  with  respect 
for  order  in  a  most  successful  manner.  If  he 
wanted  to  speak  to  a  pupil,  either  for  reproof  or 
approbation,  he  would  generally  manage  to  get 
one  arm  around  him,  and  draw  him  close  up  to 
him.  He  had  a  peculiar  way  of  shaking  hands, 
too,  giving  a  twist  to  your  arm,  and  drawing  you 
right  up  to  him.  This  sympathetic  manner  has 
helped  him  to  advancement.  When  I  was  janitor, 
he  used  sometimes  to  stop  me,  and  ask  my  opinion 
about  this  and  that,  as  if  seriously  advising  with 
me.  I  can  see  now  that  my  opinion  could  not 
have  been  of  any  value,  and  that  he  probably 
asked  me  partly  to  increase  my  self-respect  and 
partly  to  show  that  he  felt  ap  interest  in  me.  I 
certainly  was  his  friend  all  the  firmer  for  it. 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELV.  173 

"I  remember  once  asking  him  what  was  the 
best  way  to  pursue  a  certain  study. 

"  '  Use  several  text-books,'  he  answered.  '  Get 
the  views  of  different  authors  as  you  advance.  In 
that  way  you  can  plow  a  deeper  furrow.  I  always 
study  in  that  way.' 

"  He  tried  hard  to  teach  us  to  observe  carefully 
and  accurately.  He  broke  out  one  day  in  the 
midst  of  a  lesson  with,  '  Henry,  how  many  posts 
are  there  under  the  building  down-stairs?' 
Henry  expressed  his  opinion,  and  the  question 
went  around  the  class,  hardly  any  one  getting  it 
right.  Then  it  was,  c  How  many  boot-scrapers 
are  there  at  the  door  ? '  c  How  many  windows 
in  the  building  ? '  <  How  many  trees  in  the  field  ? ' 
He  was  the  keenest  observer  I  ever  saw.  I  think 
he  noticed  and  numbered  every  button  on  our 
coats.  A  friend  of  mine  was  walking  with  him 
through  Cleveland  one  day,  when  Garfield  stopped 
and  darted  down  a  cellar-way,  asking  his  com 
panion  to  follow,  and  briefly  pausing  to  explain 
himself.  The  sign,  '  Saws  and  Files,'  was  over 
the  door,  and  in  the  depths  was  heard  a  regular 
clicking  sound.  '  I  think  this  fellow  is  cutting 
files,'  said  he,  <  and  I  have  never  seen  a  file  cut.' 


]74  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OS 

"  Down  they  went,  and,  sure  enough,  there  was 
a  man  recutting  an  old  file ;  and  they  stayed  ten 
minutes,  and  found  out  all  about  the  process. 
Garfield  would  never  go  by  anything  without 
understanding  it. 

"  Mr.  Garfield  was  very  fond  of  lecturing  in 
the  school.  He  spoke  two  or  three  times  a  week, 
on  all  manner  of  topics,  generally  scientific, 
though  sometimes  literary  or  historical.  He 
spoke  with  great  freedom,  never  writing  out  what 
he  had  to  say,  and  I  now  think  that  his  lectures 
were  a  rapid  compilation  of  his  current  reading, 
and  that  he  threw  it  into  this  form  partly  for  the 
purpose  of  impressing  it  upon  his  own  mind. 

"  His  facility  of  speech  was  learned  when  he 
was  a  pupil  at  Hiram.  The  societies  had  a  rule 
that  every  student  should  take  his  stand  on  the 
platform  and  speak  for  five  minutes  on  any  topic 
suggested  at  the  moment  by  the  audience.  It  was 
a  very  trying  ordeal.  Garfield  broke  down  badly 
the  first  two  times  he  tried  to  speak,  but  per 
sisted,  and  was  at  last,  when  he  went  to  Williams, 
one  of  the  best  of  the  five-minute  speakers.  When 
he  returned  as  principal,  his  readiness  was  striking 
and  remarkable." 


JAMES  A.    OARF1ELD. 

Henry  James  says  :  "  Garfield  taught  me  more 
than  any  other  man,  living  or  dead,  and,  proud  as 
I  am.  of  his  record  as  a  soldier  and  a  statesman,  I 
can  hardly  forgive  him  for  abandoning  the 
academy  and  the  forum." 

So  President  Hinsdale,  one  of  Garfield's  pupils, 
and  his  successor  as  president,  testifies :  "  My  real 
acquaintance  with  Garfield  did  not  begin  till  the 
fall  of  1856,  when  he  returned  from  Williams 
College.  lie  then  found  me  out,  drew  near  to 
me,  and  entered  into  all  my  troubles  and  difficul 
ties  pertaining  to  questions  of  the  future.  In  a 
greater  or  less  degree  this  was  true  of  his  relations 
to  his  pupils  generally.  There  are  hundreds  of 
these  men  and  women  scattered  over  the  world 
to-day,  who  can  not  find  language  strong  enough 
to  express  their  feeling  in  contemplating  Garfield 
as  their  old  instructor,  adviser,  and  friend. 

"  Since  1856  my  relations  with  him  have  been 
as  close  and  confidential  as  they  could  be  with  any 
man,  and  much  closer  and  more  confidential  than 
they  have  been  with  any  other  man.  I  do  not 
say  that  it  would  be  possible  for  me  to  know 
anybody  better  than  I  know  him,  and  I  know  that 
he  possesses  all  the  great  elements  of  character  in 


176  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

an  extraordinary  degree.  His  interest  in  hu 
manity  has  always  been  as  broad  as  humanity 
itself,  while  his  lively  interest  in  young  men  and 
women,  especially  if  they  were  struggling  in  nar 
row  circumstances  to  obtain  an  education,  is  a 
characteristic  known  as  widely  over  the  world  as 
the  footsteps  of  Hiram  boys  and  girls  have 
wandered. 

"  The  help  that  he  furnished  hundreds  in  the 
way  of  suggestions,  teaching,  encouragement,  in 
spiration,  and  stimulus  was  most  valuable.  His 
power  over  students  was  not  so  much  that  of  a 
drill-master,  or  disciplinarian,  as  that  of  one 
who  was  able  to  inspire  and  energize  young 
people  by  his  own  intellectual  and  moral  force." 

An  illustration  of  the  interest  he  felt  in  his 
pupils  may  be  given. 

A  student  came  to  the  president's  study  at  the 
close  of  a  college  term  to  bid  him  good-bye.  After 
the  good-bye  was  said,  he  lingered,  and  Garfield 
said :  "  I  suppose  you  will  be  back  again  in  the 
fall,  Henry?" 

"No,"  he  stammered,  "I  am  not  coming  back 
to  Hiram  any  more.  Father  says  I  have  got  edu 
cation  enough,  and  that  lie  needs  me  to  work  on 


JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD.  177 

the  farm;  that  education  doesn't  help  a  farmer 
along  any." 

He  was  a  bright  boy — not  a  prodigy,  by  any 
means,  but  one  of  those  strong,  awkward,  large- 
headed  fellows,  such  as  James  Gartield  had  him 
self  been. 

"  Is  your  father  here  3  "  asked  the  young  presi 
dent,  affected  by  the  boy's  evident  sorrow. 

"  Yes,  father  is  here,  and  is  taking  my  things 
home  for  good." 

"Well,  don't  feel  badly.  Please  tell  him  Mr. 
Garfield  would  like  to  see  him  at  his  study  before 
he  leaves  the  college." 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  will." 

In  half  an  hour  the  father,  a  sturdy  farmer, 
entered  the  study  and  awkwardly  sat  down. 

"  So  you  have  come  to  take  Henry  home,  have 
you  ?  "  asked  the  president. 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  farmer. 

"  I  sent  for  you  because  I  wanted  to  have  a 
little  talk  with  you  about  Henry's  future.  He  is 
coming  back  again  in  the  fall,  I  hope  ? " 

l(  Wai,  I  think  not.     I  don't  reckon  I  can  afford 

to   send   him   any   more.      He's   got   eddication 

enough  for  a  farmer  already,  and  I  notice  that 

when  they  git  too  much,  they  sorter  git  lazy. 

12 


178  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

Yer  eddicated  farmers  are  humbugs.  Henry's 
got  so  far  'long  now  that  he'd  ruther  have  his  head 
in  a  book  than  be  workin'.  He  don't  take  no  in 
terest  in  the  stock,  nor  in  the  farm  improvements. 
Everybody  else  is  dependent  in  this  world  on  the 
farmer,  and  I  think  that  we've  got  too  many  eddi 
cated  fellows  settin'  'round  now  for  the  farmers 
to  support." 

To  this  Garfield  answered  that  he  was  sorry  for 
the  father's  decision,  since  his  son,  if  permitted  to 
come  the  next  term,  would  be  far  enough  advanced 
to  teach  school,  and  so  begin  to  help  himself 
along.  Teaching  would  pay  better  than  working 
on  the  farm  in  the  winter. 

"  Do  you  really  think  Henry  can  teach  next 
winter  ? "  asked  the  father,  to  whom  the  idea  was 
a  new  one. 

"  I  should  think  so,  certainly,"  answered  Gar- 
field.  "  But  if  he  can  not  do  so  then,  he  can  in  a 
short  time." 

"  Wai,  I  will  think  on  it.  IT^  wants  to  come 
back  bad  enough,  and  I  guess  I'll  have  to  let  him. 
I  never  thought  of  it  that  way  afore." 

The  victory  was  won.  Henry  came  back  the 
next  term,  and  after  finishing  at  Hiram,  graduated 
at  an  Eastern  college. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

GARFIELD   BECOMES    A    STATE    SENATOR. 

PROBABLY  Garfield  considered  now  that  he  was 
settled  in  life.  He  had  married  the  woman  of 
his  choice,  set  up  a  pleasant  home,  and  was  fully 
occupied  with  a  class  of  duties  that  suited  him. 
Living  frugally,  he  was  able  to  lay  by  a  portion 
of  his  salary  annually,  and  saw  the  way  open,  if 
life  and  health  continued,  to  a  moderate  pros 
perity.  He  seemed  to  be  a  born  teacher,  and  his 
life  seemed  likely  to  be  passed  in  that  pleasant 
and  tranquil  office. 

Many  years  before,  while  still  unmarried,  his 
mother  had  been  a  teacher,  and  one  of  her  expe 
riences  when  so  occupied  was  so  remarkable  that 
I  can  not  forbear  quoting  it : 

"  About  the  year  1820  she  and  her  sister  were 
left  alone  in  the  world,  without  provision,  so 
far  as  the  inheritance  or  possession  of  property 

was  concerned.     Preferring  to  live  among  rela- 

(170) 


180  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

tives,  one  went  to  reside  with  an  uncle  in 
Northern  Ohio,  and  the  other,  Eliza,  afterward 
Mrs.  Garfield,  came  to  another  uncle,  the  father 
of  Samuel  Arnold,  who  then  lived  on  a  farm  near 
Norwich,  Muskingum  County,  Ohio.  There 
Eliza  Ballou  made  her  home,  cheerfully  helping 
at  the  house  or  in  the  field,  as  was  then  sometimes 
the  custom  in  a  pioneer  country.  Having  some 
thing  more  than  what  at  that  day  was  an  ordinary 
education,  Eliza  procured  about  twenty  pupils, 
and  taught  a  summer  school. 

"  The  school-house  was  one  of  the  most  primi 
tive  kind,  and  stood  in  the  edge  of  dense  and 
heavily-timbered  woods.  One  day  there  came  up 
a  fearful  storm  of  wind  and  rain,  accompanied  by 
thunder  and  lightning.  The  woods  were  badly 
wrecked,  but  the  wind  left  the  old  log-house  un 
injured.  Not  so  the  lightning.  A  bolt  struck  a 
tree  that  projected  closely  over  the  roof,  and  then 
the  roof  itself.  Some  of  the  pupils  were  greatly 
alarmed,  and  no  doubt  thought  it  the  crack  of 
doom,  or  the  day  of  judgment.  The  teacher,  as 
calm  and  collected  as  possible,  tried  to  quiet  her 
pupils  and  keep  them  in  their  places.  A  man 
who  was  one  of  the  pupils,  in  speaking  of  the 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  181 

occurrence,  says  that  for  a  little  while  he  remem 
bered  nothing,  and  then  he  looked  around,  and 
saw,  as  he  thought,  the  teacher  and  pupils  lying 
dead  on  the  floor.  Presently  the  teacher  began 
to  move  a  little.  Then,  one  by  one,  the  pupils 
got  up,  with  a  single  exception.  Help,  medical 
and  otherwise,  was  obtained  as  soon  as  possible 
for  this  one,  but,  though  life  was  saved  for  a  time, 
reason  had  forever  fled." 

This  was  certainly  a  fearful  experience  for  a 
young  teacher. 

It  was  while  on  a  visit  to  her  sister,  already 
married,  in  Northern  Ohio,  that  Eliza  made  the 
acquaintance  of  Abram  Garfield,  the  father  of  the 
future  President.  In  this  neighborhood,  while 
on  a  visit  to  his  relatives,  at  the  age  of  seventeen, 
James  obtained  a  school  and  taught  for  a  single 
term. 

Having  retraced  our  steps  to  record  this  early 
Cxxperierice  of  James'  mother,  we  take  the  oppor 
tunity  to  mention  an  incident  in  the  life  of  her 
son,  which  was  omitted  in  the  proper  place. 
The  story  was  told  by  Garfield  himself  during 
his  last  sickness  to  Mr.  Crump,  steward  of  the 
White  House. 


]§2  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

"  When  I  was  a  youngster,"  said  the  President, 
"and  started  for  college  at  Hiram,  I  had  just  fif 
teen  dollars — a  ten-dollar  bill  in  an  old,  black- 
leather  pocketbook,  which  was  in  the  breast 
pocket  of  mj  coat,  and  the  other  five  dollars  was 
in  my  trowsers'  pocket.  I  was  walking  along  the 
road,  and,  as  the  day  was  hot,  I  took  off  my  coat 
and  carried  it  on  my  arm,  taking  good  care  to 
feel  every  moment  or  two  of  the  pocketbook,  for 
the  hard-earned  fifteen  dollars  was  to  pay  my  en 
trance  at  the  college. 

"  After  a  while  1  got  to  thinking  over  what 
college  life  would  be  like,  and  forgot  all  about  the 
pocketbook  for  some  time,  and  when  I  looked 
again  it  was  gone  !  I  went  back  mournfully 
along  the  road,  hunting  on  both  sides  for  the 
pocketbook.  Presently  I  came  to  a  house  where 
a  young  man  was  leaning  over  a  gate,  and  he 
asked  me  when  T  came  up  what  I  was  hunting 
for.  Upon  my  explaining  my  loss,  and  describing 
the  pocketbook,  the  young  man  handed  it  over. 
That  young  man,"  the  President  added,  turning 
to  his  devoted  physician,  "  was  Dr.  Bliss.  He 
saved  me  for  college." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  doctor,  "  and  if  I  hadn't  found 


JAMES  A.   OARFIELD.  183 

your  ten  dollars  you  wouldn't  have  become  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States." 

Many  a  true  word  is  spoken  in  jest.  It  might 
have  happened  that  the  boy  would  have  been  so 
depressed  by  the  loss  of  his  money  that  he  would 
have  given  up  his  plan  of  going  to  Hiram  and 
returned  home  to  fill  an  humbler  place  in  the 
world. 

But  it  is  time  to  return  from  this  digression 
and  resume  our  narrative. 

Devoted  to  his  profession,  young  Garfield  had 
given  but  little  attention  to  politics.  But  in  the 
political  campaign  of  1857  and  1858  he  became 
interested  in  the  exciting  political  questions  which 
agitated  the  community,  and,  taking  the  stump, 
he  soon  acquired  the  reputation  of  a  forcible  and 
logical  stump  orator.  This  drew  the  attention  of 
the  voters  to  him,  and  in  1859  he  was  tendered 
a  nomination  to  the  Ohio  Senate  from  the  coun 
ties  of  Portage  and  Summit.  His  speeches  during 
the  campaign  of  that  year  are  said  to  have  been 
warm,  fresh,  and  impassioned,  and  he  was  elected 
by  a  handsome  majority. 

This  was  the  first  entrance  of  the  future  Presi 
dent  upon  public  life.  The  session  was  not  long, 


184         BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

and  the  absence  of  a  few  weeks  at  Columbus  did 
not  seriously  interfere  with  his  college  duties. 

In  the  Senate  he  at  once  took  high  rank.  He 
was  always  ready  to  speak,  his  past  experience 
having  made  this  easy.  He  took  care  to  inform 
himself  upon  the  subjects  which  came  up  for 
legislation,  and  for  this  reason  he  was  always 
listened  to  with  respectful  attention.  Moreover, 
his  genial  manners  and  warmth  of  heart  made 
him  a  general  favorite  among  all  his  fellow  legis 
lators,  whether  they  belonged  to  his  party  or  to 
the  opposition. 

Again,  in  the  session  of  1860-61,  being  also  a 
member  of  the  Senate,  he  took  a  prominent  part 
in  such  measures  as  were  proposed  to  uphold  the 
National  Government,  menaced  by  the  represent 
ative  men  of  the  South.  He  was  among  the  fore 
most  in  declaring  that  the  integrity  of  the  Union 
must  be  protected  at  all  hazards,  and  declared 
that  it  was  the  right  and  duty  of  the  Government 
to  coerce  the  seceded  States. 

When  the  President's  call  for  seventy-five 
thousand  men  was  made  public,  and  announce 
ment  was  made  to  the  Ohio  Senate,  Senator  Gar- 
field  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  amid  loud  applause 


JAMES  A.    GARF1ELD.  185 

moved  that  "twenty  thousand  troops  and  three 
millions  of  money"  should  be  at  once  voted  as 
Ohio's  quota  !  lie  closed  his  speech  by  offering 
his  services  to  Governor  Dennison  in  any  ca 
pacity. 

This  offer  the  Governor  bore  in  mind,  and  on 
the  14th  of  August,  1861,  Garfield  was  offered 
the  Lieutenant-Colonelcy  of  the  Forty-second 
Ohio  regiment,  which  he  had  been  instrumental 
in  forming. 

It  was  a  serious  moment  for  Garfield.  The 
acceptance  of  this  commission  would  derange  all 
his  cherished  plans.  It  would  separate  him  from 
his  wife  and  child,  and  from  the  loved  institution 
of  which  he  was  the  head.  He  must  bid  fare 
well  to  the  calm,  studious  life,  which  he  so  much 
enjoyed,  and  spend  days  and  months  in  the  camp, 
liable  at  any  moment  to  fall  the  victim  of  an 
enemy's  bullet. 

Suppose  he  should  be  killed  ?  His  wife  would 
have  no  provision  but  the  small  sum  of  three 
thousand  dollars,  which  he  had  been  able  by 
great  economy  to  save  from  his  modest  salary. 

lie  hesitated,  but  it  was  not  for  long.     He  was 


186  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

not  a  man  to  shrink  from  the  call  of  duty.     Be 
fore  moving  he  wrote  to  a  friend : 

"  I  regard  my  life  as  given  to  the  country.  I 
am  only  anxious  to  make  as  much  of  it  as  possi 
ble  before  the  mortgage  on  it  is  foreclosed." 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

A   DIFFICULT   DUTY. 

HAVING  made  up  his  mind  to  serve  his  country 
in  the  field,  Garfield  immediately  wrote  to  the 
Governor  accepting  the  appointment. 

The  regiment  to  which  he  was  assigned  was 
recruited  from  the  same  counties  which  he  repre 
sented  in  the  State  Senate.  A  large  number  of 
the  officers  and  privates  had  been  connected  as 
students  with  Hiram  College,  and  were  person 
ally  known  to  Garfield. 

His  first  step  was  to  qualify  himself  for  his 
new  position.  Of  the  art  and  mystery  of  war 
the  young  scholar  knew  little,  but  he  was  no 
worse  off  than  many  another  whom  the  exigen 
cies  of  his  country  summoned  from  peaceful  pur 
suits  to  the  tented  field  and  the  toilsome  march. 
It  was  probably  the  only  office  which  he  ever 
assumed  without  suitable  qualifications.  But  it 

was  not  in  his  nature  to  undertake  any  duties 

(187) 


188  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

without  endeavoring  to  fit  himself  for  their  dis 
charge. 

His  method  of  studying  the  art  of  war  was 
curious  and  original.  Falling  back  on  his  old 
trade  of  carpenter,  he  brought  "  his  saw  and  jack- 
plane  again  into  play,  fashioned  companies,  offi 
cers  and  non-commissioned  officers  out  of  maple 
blocks,  and  with  these  wooden-headed  troops  he 
thoroughly  mastered  the  infantry  tactics  in  his 
quarters."  There  was  this  advantage  in  his 
method,  that  his  toy  troops  were  thoroughly 
manageable. 

The  next  step  was  to  organize  a  school  for  the 
officers  of  his  regiment,  requiring  thorough  reci 
tation  in  the  tactics,  while  their  teacher  illustrated 
the  maneuvers  by  the  blocks  he  had  prepared 
for  his  own  instruction.  He  was  obliged  to  begin 
with  the  officers,  that  they  might  be  qualified  to 
assist  him  in  instructing  the  men  under  their 
command.  He  was  then  able  to  institute  regi 
mental,  squad,  skirmish,  and  bayonet  drill,  and 
kept  his  men  at  these  exercises  from  six  to  eight 
hours  daily  till  the  Forty-second  won  the  reputa 
tion  of  being  the  best  drilled  regiment  to  bo 
found  in  Ohio. 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  189 

My  boy  readers  will  be  reminded  of  the  way 
in  which  he  taught  geometry  in  one  of  his  winter 
schools,  preparing  himself  at  night  for  the  lesson 
of  the  next  day.  I  would  like  to  call  their  at 
tention  also  to  the  thoroughness  with  which  he 
did  everything.  Though  previously  ignorant  of 
military  tactics  he  instructed  his  regiment  in  them 
thoroughly,  believing  that  whatever  was  worth 
doing  at  all  was  worth  doing  well. 

He  was  appointed  Lieutenant- Colon  el,  but  by 
the  time  his  organization  was  completed  he  was 
promoted  to  the  Colonelcy. 

At  last  the  preliminary  work  was  completed. 
His  men,  an  undisciplined  body  when  he  took 
them  in  hand,  had  become  trained  soldiers,  but 
as  yet  they  had  not  received  what  Napoleon  III. 
called  the  "  baptism  of  fire."  It  is  all  very  well 
to  march  and  countermarch,  and  practice  the  or 
dinary  evolutions  like  militia-men  at  a  muster, 
but  how  was  the  regiment,  how  was  its  scholarly 
commander  likely  to  act  in  the  field  ? 

On  the  14th  of  December  orders  for  the  field 
were  received  by  Colonel  Garfield's  command, 
stationed  at  Camp  Chase. 

Then  came  the  trial  of  parting  with  wife  aad 


190         BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

mother  and  going  for'tli  to  battle  and  danger.  To 
his  mother,  whose  highest  ambition  had  been  that 
her  son  should  be  a  scholar,  it  was  doubtless  a 
keen  disappointment  that  his  settled  prospects 
should  be  so  broken  up ;  but  she,  too,  was  patriotic, 
and  she  quietly  said  :  "  Go,  my  son,  your  life  be 
longs  to  your  country." 

Colonel  Garfield's  orders  were  to  report  to 
General  Buell  at  Louisville.  He  moved  his  regi 
ment  by  way  of  Cincinnati  to  Catlettsburg,  Ken 
tucky,  a  town  at  the  junction  of  the  Big  Sandy 
and  the  Ohio,  and  was  enabled  to  report  to  his 
commander  on  the  19th  of  December. 

Then,  for  the  first  time,  he  learned  what  was 
the  nature  of  the  duty  that  was  assigned  to  him. 
It  was  no  less  than  to  save  Kentucky  to  the  Union. 
A  border  State,  with  an  interest  in  slavery,  public 
opinion  was  divided,  and  it  was  uncertain  to 
which  side  it  would  incline.  The  Confederates 
understood  the  value  of  the  prize,  and  they  had 
taken  measures,  which  promised  to  be  successful, 
to  wrest  it  from  the  Union.  The  task  had  been 
committed  to  Gen.  Humphrey  Marshall,  who  had 
invaded  Eastern  Kentucky  from  the  Virginia 
border,  and  had  already  advanced  as  far  north  as 
Prestonburg. 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  ]Q\ 

Gen.  Marshall  fortified  a  strong  natural  posi 
tion  near  Paintville,  and  overran  the  whole 
Piedmont  region.  This  region  contained  few 
slaves — but  one  in  twenty-five  of  the  whole  popu 
lation.  It  was  inhabited  by  a  brave  rural 
population,  more  closely  resembling  their  North 
ern  than  their  Southern  neighbors.  Among  these 
people  Marshall  sent  stump  orators  to  fire  them 
with  enthusiasm  for  the  Confederate  cause.  Such 
men  would  make  valuable  soldiers  and  must  be 
won  over  if  possible. 

So  all  that  portion  of  the  State  was  in  a  fer 
ment.  It  looked  as  if  it  would  be  lost  to  the 
Union.  Marshall  was  daily  increasing  the  num 
ber  of  his  forces,  preparing  either  to  intercept 
Buell,  and  prevent  his  advance  into  Tennessee, 
or,  cutting  off  his  communications,  with  the 
assistance  of  Beau  regard,  to  crush  him  between 
them. 

To  Colonel  Garfield,  an  inexperienced  civilian, 
who  had  only  studied  military  tactics  by  the  aid 
of  wooden  blocks,  and  who  had  never  been  under 
fire,  it  was  proposed  to  meet  Marshall,  a  trained 
soldier,  to  check  his  advance,  and  drive  him  from 
the  State.  This  would  have  been  formidable 


}g2  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

enough  if  he  had  been  provided  with  an  equal 
number  of  soldiers ;  but  this  was  far  from  being 
the  case.  He  had  but  twenty-five  hundred  men 
to  aid  him  in  his  difficult  work,  and  of  these 
eleven  hundred,  under  Colonel  Craven,  were  a 
hundred  miles  away,  at  Paris,  Kentucky,  and  this 
hundred  miles  was  no  level  plain,  but  a  rough, 
mountainous  country,  infested  with  guerrillas  and 
occupied  by  a  disloyal  people. 

Of  course,  the  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to 
connect  with  Colonel  Craven,  but,  considering 
the  distance  and  the  nature  of  the  country  to  be 
traversed,  it  was  a  most  difficult  problem.  The 
chances  were  that  Gen.  Marshall,  with  his  vastly 
superior  force,  woulcl  attack  the  two  bodies  of 
soldiers  separately,  and  crush  them  before  a  union 
could  be  effected. 

Gen.  Buell  explained  how  matters  stood  to  the 
young  colonel  of  volunteers,  and  ended  thus : 

"  That  is  what  you  have  to  do,  Colonel  Gar- 
field — drive  Marshall  from  Kentucky,  and  you 
see  how  much  depends  on  your  action.  Now  go 
to  your  quarters,  think  of  it  overnight,  and  come 
here  in  the  morning  and  tell  me  how  you  will 
do  it." 


JAMES  A.    QABFIELD.  193 

In  college  Garfield  had  been  called  upon  to 
solve  many  difficult  problems  in  the  higher  mathe 
matics,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  he'  ever 
encountered  a  more  knotty  problem  than  this  one. 

He  and  Colonel  Craven  represented  two  little 
boys  of  feeble  strength,  unable  to  combine  their 
efforts,  who  were  called  upon  to  oppose  and  cap 
ture  a  big  boy  of  twice  their  size,  who  knew  a 
good  deal  more  about  fighting  than  they  did. 

No  wonder  the  young  colonel  felt  perplexed. 
But  he  did  not  give  up.  It  was  not  his  way. 
He  resolved  to  consider  whether  anything  could 
be  done,  and  what. 

My  chief  object  in  writing  this  volume  being 
to  commend  its  subject  as  an  example  for  boys,  I 
think  it  right  to  call  attention  to  this  trait  which 
he  possessed  in  a  conspicuous  degree.  Brought 
face  to  face  with  difficulty — with  what  might 
almost  be  called  the  impossible,  he  did  not  say, 
"  Oh,  I  can't  do  it.  It  is  impossible."  He  went 
home  to  devise  a  plan. 

First  of  all,  it  was  important  that  he  sliui^J!. 

know  something  of  the  intervening  country — its 

conformation,  its  rivers  and  streams,  if  there  were 

any.     So,  on  his  way  to  his  room  he  sought  a 

13 


194        BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

book-store  and  bought  a  rude  map  of  Kentucky, 
and  then,  shutting  himself  up  in  his  room,  while 
others  were  asleep,  he  devoted  himself  to  a  lesson 
in  geography.  With  more  care  than  he  had  ever 
used  in  school,  he  familiarized  himself  with  the 
geography  of  the  country  in  which  he  was  to 
operate,  and  then  set  himself  to  devise  some 
feasible  plan  of  campaign. 

It  was  a  hard  problem,  and  required  still  more 
anxious  thought,  because  the  general  to  whom  he 
was  to  report  it,  was,  unlike  himself,  a  man  thor 
oughly  trained  in  the  art  of  war. 

The  next  morning,  according  to  orders,  he 
sought  again  his  commanding  officer. 

Gen.  Buell  was  a  man  of  great  reticence  and 
severe  military  habits,  and  if  the  plan  were  weak 
or  foolish,  as  might  well  be  from  the  utter  lack  of 
experience  of  the  young  officer  who  was  to  make 
it,  he  would  unhesitatingly  say  so. 

As  Garfield  laid  his  rude  map  and  roughly 
outlined  plan  on  the  table,  and  explained  his  con- 
rn-nf  ion  of  the  campaign,  he  watched  anxiously  to 
see  how  Gen.  Buell  was  impressed  by  it.  But 
the  general  was  a  man  who  knew  how  to  veil  his 
thoughts.  He  waited  in  silence  till  Garfield  had 


JAMES  A.   GARF2ELD.  |Q5 

finished,  only  asking  a  brief  question  now  and 
then,  and  at  the  end,  without  expressing  his 
opinion  one  way  or  the  other,  merely  said : 
"  Colonel  Garfield,  your  orders  will  be  sent  you 
at  six  o'clock  this  evening." 

Garfield  was  not  compelled  to  wait  beyond  that 
hour. 

Promptly  the  order  came,  organizing  the 
Eighteenth  Brigade  of  the  Army  of  the  Ohio, 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Garfield,  with  a 
letter  of  instructions,  embodying  essentially  the 
plan  submitted  by  the  young  officer  in  the 
morning. 

"When  Garfield  set  out  with  his  command  the 
next  morning,  Gen.  Buell  said  to  him  at  parting : 

11  Colonel,  you  will  be  at  so  great  a  distance 
from  me,  and  communication  will  be  so  difficult, 
that  I  must  commit  all  matters  of  detail  and 
much  of  the  fate  of  the  campaign  to  your  discre 
tion.  I  shall  hope  to  hear  a  good  account  of 
you." 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


COL.  GAEFIELD  had  already  sent  oil  his  regi 
ment  in  advance  to  Louisa,  twenty-eight  miles  up 
the  Big  Sandy. 

There  he  joined  them  on  the  24th,  having 
waited  at  Catlettsburg  only  long  enough  to  for 
ward  to  them  necessary  supplies. 

The  arrival  of  the  regiment  was  opportune,  for 
the  district  was  thoroughly  alarmed.  A  regiment 
had  been  stationed  there — the  Fourteenth  Ken 
tucky — but  had  hastily  retreated  to  the  mouth  of 
the  river  during  the  night  of  the  19th,  under  the 
impression  that  Marshall  was  advancing  with  his 
forces  to  drive  them  into  the  Ohio.  It  was  a  false 
alarm,  but  the  Union  citizens  were  very  much 
alarmed,  and  were  preparing  with  their  families 
to  cross  the  river  for  safety.  With  the  appear 
ance  of  Garfield's  regiment  a  feeling  of  security 

returned. 

(196) 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  ^97 

I  am  anxious  to  make  plain  to  my  boy  readers 
the  manner  in  which  the  young  colonel  managed 
his  campaign.  I  think  they  will  have  no  difficul 
ty  in  understanding  that  Garh'eld  had  two  very 
difficult  things  to  accomplish.  Colonel  Craven 
knew  nothing  of  Garfield's  advance,  nor  of  his 
plans.  It  was  necessary  to  inform  him.  Again, 
if  possible,  a  junction  must  be  effected.  The  first 
was  difficult,  because  the  intervening  country  was 
infested  with  roving  bands  of  guerrillas,  and  a 
messenger  must  take  his  life  in  his  hands.  How, 
again,  could  a  junction  be  effected  in  the  face  of 
a  superior  enemy,  liable  to  fall  upon  either  col 
umn  and  crush  it  ? 

Obviously  the  first  thing  was  to  find  a  mes 
senger. 

Garfield  applied  to  Col.  Moore  of  the  Four 
teenth  Kentucky,  and  made  known  his  need. 

"  Have  you  a  man,"  he  asked,  "  who  will  die 
rather  than  fail  or  betray  us  ? " 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  Kentuckian,  after  a  pause, 
"  I  think  I  have.  His  name  is  John  Jordan,  and 
he  comes  from  the  head  of  the  Elaine." 

This  was  a  small  stream  which  entered  the  Big 
Sandy,  a  short  distance  from  the  town. 


198  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

At  the  request  of  Garfield,  Jordan  was  sent  for. 
In  a  short  time  he  entered  the  tent  of  the  Union 
commander. 

This  John  Jordan  was  a  remarkable,  man,  and 
well  known  in  all  that  region.  He  was  of  Scotch 
descent,  and  possessed  some  of  the  best  traits  of 
her  Scotch  ancestry.  He  was  a  born  actor,  a  man 
of  undoubted  courage,  fertile  in  expedients,  and 
devoted  to  the  Union  cause. 

Garfield  was  a  judge  of  men,  and  he  was  im 
pressed  in  the  man's  favor  at  first  sight.  He  de 
scribes  Jordan  as  a  tall,  gaunt,  sallow  man,  about 
thirty  years  of  age,  with  gray  eyes,  a  fine  falsetto 
voice,  and  a  face  of  wonderful  expressiveness. 
To  the  young  colonel  he  was  a  new  type  of  man, 
but  withal  a  man  whom  he  was  convinced  that 
he  could  trust. 

"  Why  did  you  come  into  this  war  ?  "  he  asked, 
with  some  curiosity. 

"  To  do  my  share,  colonel,  and  I've  made  a 
bargain  with  the  Lord.  I  gave  Him  my  life  to 
start  with,  and  if  He  has  a  mind  to  take  it,  it's 
His.  I've  nothing  to  say  agin  it." 

"  You  mean  you  have  come  into  the  war,  not 
expecting  to  get  out  of  it  alive? " 


JAMES  A.    GABFIELD.  199 

"  Yes,  colonel." 

"  You  know  what  I  want  you  to  do.  Will  you 
die  rather  than  let  this  dispatch  be  taken  2 " 

"  I  will." 

Gariield  looked  into  the  man's  face,  and  he 
read  unmistakable  sincerity. 

He  felt  that  the  man  could  be  trusted,  and  he 
said  so. 

The  dispatch  was  written  upon  tissue  paper.  It 
was  then  rolled  into  the  form  of  a  bullet,  coated 
with  warm  lead,  and  given  into  the  hands  of  the 
messenger.  He  was  provided  with  a  carbine  and 
a  brace  of  revolvers,  and  when  the  moon  was 
down,  he  mounted  his  horse  in  the  darkness  and 
set  out  on  his  perilous  journey. 

It  would  not  do  to  ride  in  the  daytime,  for  in 
evitably  he  would  be  stopped,  or  shot  down.  By 
day  he  must  hide  in  the  woods,  or  travel  only 
at  night. 

His  danger  was  increased  by  the  treachery  of 
one  of  his  own  comrades  of  the  Fourteenth  Ken 
tucky,  and  he  was  followed  by  a  band  of  guerrillas 
in  the  Confederate  interest.  Of  this,  however, 
Jordan  was  not  apprised,  and  supposing  himself 
secure  he  sought  shelter  and  concealment  at  the 


200  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

house  of  a  man  whom  he  knew  to  be  loyal.  Near 
enough  to  see,  but  not  to  be  seen,  the  guerrillas 
waited  till  the  tired  messenger  was  sleeping,  and 
then  coming  boldly  out  of  the  woods,  surrounded 
the  house. 

In  a  fright  the  good  housewife  ran  up  to  his 
chamber,  and  shook  the  sleeping  man. 

"Wake  for  your  life  ! "  she  said.  "  The  guer 
rillas  are  outside,  clamoring  for  you.  I  have  lock 
ed  the  doors,  but  I  can  not  keep  them  out  long," 

Jordan  had  thrown  himself  on  the  bed  with 
his  clothes  on.  He  knew  that  he  was  liable  to  be 
surprised,  and  in  such  an  event  time  was  most 
valuable.  Though  awakened  from  a  sound  sleep, 
he  had  all  his  wits  about  him. 

"  Thank  you,"  said  he.  "I  have  a  favor  to  ask 
in  the  name  of  our  cause." 

"  Be  quick,  then,"  said  the  woman.  "  They 
are  bursting  open  the  door." 

"  Take  this  bullet.  It  contains  a  secret  dis 
patch,  which,  if  I  am  killed,  I  enjoin  upon  you 
to  convey  to  Colonel  Craven,  at  Paris.  Will  you 
doit?" 

«  If  I  can." 

"  Then  I  am  off." 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  201 

The  door  burst  open,  but  lie  made  a  sudden 
dash,  and  escaped  capture.  He  headed  for  the 
woods,  amid  a  volley  of  bullets,  but  none  of  them 
reached  him.  Once  he  turned  round,  and  fired 
an  answering  shot.  He  did  not  stop  to  see  if  it 
took  effect,  but  it  was  the  messenger  of  Death. 
One  of  the  guerrillas  reeled,  and  measured  his 
length  upon  the  ground,  dead  in  a  moment. 

Fleet  as  a  deer  the  brave  scout  pushed  on  till 
he  got  within  the  protecting  shadows  of  the 
friendly  woods.  There  they  lost  the  trail,  and 
though  he  saw  them  from  his  place  of  conceal 
ment,  he  was  himself  unseen. 

"  Curse  him !  "  said  the  disappointed  leader. 
"  He  must  have  sunk  into  the  earth,  or  vanished 
into  the  air." 

"  If  he's  sunk  into  the  earth,  that  is  where  we 
want  him,"  answered  another,  with  glum  humor. 

"  You  will  find  I  am  not  dead  yet !  "  said  the 
hidden  scout  to  himself.  "  I  shall  live  to  trouble 
you  yet." 

He  passed  the  remainder  of  the  day  in  the 
woods,  fearing  that  his  pursuers  might  still  be 
lingering  about. 

"  If  there  were  only  two  or  three,  I'd  come  out 


202  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

and  face  'em,"  he  said,  "  but  the  odds  are  too 
great.  I  must  skulk  back  in  the  darkness,  and 
get  back  the  bullet." 

Night  came  on,  and  the  woman  who  had  saved 
him,  heard  a  low  tapping  at  the  door.  It  might 
be  an  enemy,  and  she  advanced,  and  opened  it 
with  caution.  A  figure,  seen  indistinctly  in  the 
darkness,  stood  before  her. 

"  Who  are  you  ? "  she  asked  doubtfully. 

"  Don't  be  afraid,  ma'am,  it's  only  me." 

"  And  you " 

"  Are  the  man  you  saved  this  morning !  " 

"  God  be  thanked !  Then  you  were  not 
killed  ? " 

"  Do  I  look  like  a  dead  man  ?  No,  my  time 
hasn't  come  yet.  I  foiled  'em  in  the  wood,  and 
there  I  have  spent  all  day.  Have  you  any  vict 
uals,  for  I  am  famished  ?  " 

"  Yes,  come  in." 

u  I  can  not  stay.  I  will  take  what  you  have 
and  leave  at  once,  for  the  villains  may  be  lurkin' 
round  here  somewhere.  But  first,  the  bullet ! 
have  you  that  safe  ?  " 

"  Here  it  is." 

The  scout  put  it  in  his  pocket,  and  taking  in 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  203 

his  hand  a  paper  box  of  bread  and  meat  which 
his  loyal  hostess  brought  him,  resumed  his  hazard 
ous  journey. 

He  knew  that  there  were  other  perils  to  en 
counter,  unless  he  was  particularly  fortunate,  but 
he  had  a  heart  prepared  for  any  fate.  The  perils 
came,  but  he  escaped  them  with  adroitness,  and 
at  midnight  of  the  following  day  he  was  admit 
ted  into  the  presence  of  Colonel  Craven. 

Surely  this  was  no  common  man,  and  his  feat 
was  no  common  one. 

In  forty-eight  hours,  traveling  only  by  night, 
he  had  traversed  one  hundred  miles  with  a  rope 
round  his  neck,  and  without  the  prospect  of 
special  reward.  For  he  was  but  a  private,  and 
received  but  a  private's  pay — thirteen  dollars  a 
month,  a  shoddy  uniform,  and  hard-tack,  when  he 
could  get  it. 

Colonel  Craven  opened  the  bullet,  and  read  the 
dispatch. 

It  was  directed  "  Louisa,  Kentucky,  December 
24,  midnight  "  ;  and  directed  him  to  move  at  once 
with  his  regiment  (the  Fortieth  Ohio,  eight  hun 
dred  strong)  by  way  of  Mount  Sterling  and 
McCormick's  Gap,  to  Prestonburg.  He  was  to 


204  JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 

encumber  his  men  with  as  few  rations  as  possible, 
since  the  safety  of  his  command  depended  on  his 
celerity.  He  was  also  requested  to  notify  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Woodford,  at  Stamford,  and  direct 
him  to  join  the  march  with  his  three  hundred 
cavalry. 

On  the  following  morning  Col.  Craven's  column 
began  to  move.  The  scout  waited  till  night,  and 
then  set  out  on  his  return.  The  reader  will  be 
glad  to  learn  that  the  brave  man  rejoined  his 
regiment. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 


GARFIELD  didn't  wait  for  the  -scout's  return. 
He  felt  that  no  time  was  to  be  lost.  The  expedi 
tion  which  he  had  planned  was  fraught  with  peril, 
but  it  was  no  time  for  timid  counsels. 

On  the  morning  following  Jordan's  departure 
he  set  out  up  the  river,  halting  at  George's  Creek, 
only  twenty  miles  from  Marshall's  intrenched  po 
sition.  As  the  roads  along  the  Big  Sandy  were 
impassable  for  trains,  and  unsafe  on  account  of 
the  nearness  of  the  enemy,  he  decided  to  depend 
mainly  upon  water  navigation  for  the  transporta 
tion  of  his  supplies. 

The  Big  Sandy  finds  its  way  to  the  Ohio 
through  the  roughest  and  wildest  spurs  of  the 
Cumberland  Mountains,  and  is  a  narrow,  fickle 
stream.  At  low-water  it  is  not  navigable  above 
Louisa,  except  for  small  flat-boats  pushed  by  hand. 

At  high-water  small  steamers  can  reach  Piketon, 

(206) 


206  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  the  mouth  ; 
but  when  there  are  heavy  freshets  the  swift  cur 
rent,  filled  with  floating  timber,  and  the  over 
hanging  trees  which  almost  touch  one  another 
from  the  opposite  banks,  render  navigation  al 
most  impracticable.  This  was  enough  to  intimidate 
a  man  less  in  earnest  than  Garfield.  He  did  not 
hesitate,  but  gathering  together  ten  days'  rations, 
he  chartered  two  small  steamers,  and  seizing  all 
the  flat-boats  he  could  lay  hands  on,  took  his 
army  wagons  apart,  and  loaded  them,  with  his 
forage  and  provisions,  upon  the  flat-boats. 

Just  as  he  was  ready  to  start  he  received  an 
unexpected  reinforcement.  Captain  Bent,  of  the 
Fourteenth  Kentucky,  entering  Garfield's  tent, 
said  to  him,  "  Colonel,  there's  a  man  outside  who 
says  he  knows  you.  Bradley  Brown,  a  rebel 
thief  and  scoundrel." 

"  Bradley  Brown,"  repeated  Garfield,  puzzled. 
"  I  don't  remember  any  such  name." 

"  He  has  lived  near  the  head  of  the  Blaine,  and 
been  a  boatman  on  the  river.  He  says  he  knew 
you  on  the  canal  in  Ohio." 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  remember  him  now ;   bring  him 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  207 

Brown  was  ushered  into  the  general's  tent. 
He  was  clad  in  homespun,  and  epattered  from 
head  to  foot  w}th  mud,  but  he  saw  in  Garfield 
only  the  friend  of  earlier  days,  and  hurrying  up 
to  him,  gave  him  a  hearty  grasp  of  the  hand,  ex 
claiming,  "  Jim,  old  feller,  how  are  yer  ?  " 

Garfield  received  him  cordially,  but  added, 
"  What  is  this  I  hear,  Brown  ?  Are  you  a 
rebel  ? " 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  new-comer,  "  I  belong  to 
Marshall's  force,  and  I've  come  straight  from  his 
camp  to  spy  out  your  army." 

"  Well,  you  go  about  it  queerly,"  said  Garfield, 
puzzled. 

"Wait  till  you  are  alone,  colonel.  Then  I'll 
tell  you  about  it." 

Col.  Bent  said  in  an  undertone  to  Garfield,  as 
he  left  the  tent,  "  Don't  trust  him,  colonel ;  I 
know  him  as  a  thief  and  a  rebel." 

This  was  the  substance  of  Brown's  communi 
cation.  As  soon  as  he  heard  that  James  A.  Gar- 
lield  was  in  command  of  the  Union  forces,  it  in 
stantly  struck  him  that  it  must  be  his  old  com 
rade  of  the  canal,  for  whom  he  still  cherished  a 
strong  attachment.  He  was  in  the  rebel  camp, 


208  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

but  in  reality  cared  little  which  side  was  success 
ful,  and  determined  out  of  old  friendship  to  help 
Garfield  if  he  could. 

Concealing  his  design,  he  sought  Marshall,  and 
proposed  to  visit  the  Union  cainp  as  a  spy,  men 
tioning  his  former  intimacy  with  Garfield.  Gen. 
Marshall  readily  acceded  to  his  plan,  not  sus 
pecting  that  it  was  his  real  purpose  to  tell  Gar- 
field  all  he  knew  about  the  rebel  force.  He  pro 
ceeded  to  give  the  colonel  valuable  information 
on  this  subject. 

When  he  had  finished,  Garfield  said,  "  I  advise 
you  to  go  back  to  Marshall." 

"  Go  back  to  him,  colonel  ?  Why,  he  would 
hang  me  to  the  first  tree." 

"  Not  if  you  tell  him  all  about  my  strength  and 
intended  movements." 

"But  how  kin  I?  I  don't  know  a  thing.  1 
was  brought  into  the  camp  blindfolded." 

"Still  you  can  guess.  Suppose  you  tell  him 
that  I  shall  march  to-morrow  straight  for  his  camp, 
and  in  ten  days  be  upon  him." 

"  You'd  be  a  fool,  colonel,  to  do  that,  and  he 
'trenched  so  strongly,  unless  you  had  twenty  thou 
sand  men." 


JAMES  A.    GABFIELD.  209 

"  I  haven't  got  that  number.     Guess  again." 

«  Well,  ten  thousand." 

"  That  will  do  for  a  guess.  Now  to-day  I  shall 
keep  you  locked  up,  and  to-morrow  you  can  go 
back  to  Marshall." 

At  nightfall  Brown  went  back  to  the  rebel 
camp,  and  his  report  was  made  in  accordance  with 
Garfield's  suggestions. 

The  fact  was,  that  deducting  those  sick  and  on 
garrison  duty,  Garfield's  little  army  amounted  to 
but  fourteen  hundred  in  place  of  the  ten  thou 
sand  reported  to  the  rebel  commander.  This  lit 
tle  army  was  set  in  motion  the  next  day.  It  was 
a  toilsome  and  discouraging  march,  over  roads 
knee-deep  in  mire,  and  the  troops  necessarily 
made  but  slow  progress,  being  frequently  obliged 
to  halt.  Some  days  they  succeeded  in  making  but 
five  or  six  miles.  On  the  6th  of  January,  how 
ever,  they  arrived  within  seven  miles  of  Paint- 
ville.  Here  while  Gartield  was  trying  to  catch  a 
few  hours'  sleep,  in  a  wretched  log  hut,  he  was 
roused  by  Jordan,  the  scout,  who  had  just  man 
aged  to  reach  the  camp. 

"  Have  you  seen  Craven  ? "  asked  Garfield, 
eagerly. 

14 


210  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

"  Yes ;  he  can't  be  more'ii  two  days  behind  me, 
nohow." 

"  God  bless  you,  Jordan  !  You  have  done  us 
great  service,"  said  Garfield,  warmly,  feeling 
deeply  relieved  by  this  important  news. 

"  Thank  ye,  colonel.  That's  more  pay  'n  I  ex 
pected." 

In  the  morning  another  horseman  rode  up  to 
the  Union  camp.  He  was  a  messenger  direct 
from  Gen.  Buell.  He  brought  with  him  an  inter 
cepted  letter  from  Marshall  to  his  wife,  revealing 
the  important  fact  that  the  Confederate  general 
had  five  thousand  men — forty -four  hundred  in 
fantry  and  six  hundred  cavalry— with  twelve 
pieces  of  artillery,  and  that  he  was  daily  expecting 
an  attack  from  a  Union  force  of  ten  thousand. 

It  was  clear  that  Brown  had  been  true,  and 
that  it  was  from  him  Gen.  Marshall  had  received 
this  trustworthy  intelligence  of  the  strength  of 
the  Union  army. 

Garfield  decided  not  to  communicate  the  con 
tents  of  this  letter,  lest  his  officers  should  be 
alarmed  at  the  prospect  of  attacking  a  force  so 
much  superior.  He  called  a  council,  however, 
and  put  this  question  : 


JAMES  A.   OARFIELD.  211 

"  Shall  we  march  at  once,  or  wait  the  coming 
of  Craven  ? " 

All  but  one  were  in  favor  of  waiting,  but  Gar- 
field  adopted  the  judgment  of  this  one. 

u  Forward  it  is  !  "  he  said.     "  Give  the  order." 

I  will  only  state  the  plan  of  Garfield's  attack 
in  a  general  way.  There  were  three  roads  that 
led  to  Marshall's  position — one  to  the  east,  one  to 
the  west,  and  one  between  the  two.  These 
three  roads  were  held  by  strong  Confederate 
pickets. 

Now,  it  was  Garfield's  policy  to  keep  Marshall 
deceived  as  to  his  strength.  For  this  reason,  he 
sent  a  small  body  to  drive  in  the  enemy's  pickets, 
as  if  to  attack  Paintville.  Two  hours  after,  a 
similar  force,  with  the  same  orders,  were  sent  on 
the  road  to  the  westward,  and  two  hours  later 
still,  a  small  force  was  sent  on  the  middle  road. 
The  first  pickets,  retreating  in  confusion,  fled  to 
the  camp,  with  the  intelligence  that  a  large  body 
of  Union  troops  were  on  their  way  to  make  an 
attack.  Similar  tidings  were  brought  by  the  two 
other  bodies  of  pickets,  and  Marshall,  in  dismay, 
was  led  to  believe  that  he  was  menaced  by  supe 
rior  numbers,  and  hastily  abandoned  Paintville, 


212  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

and  Garfield,  moving  his  men  rapidly  over  the 
central  route,  occupied  the  town. 

Gen.  Marshall  would  have  been  intensely 
mortified  had  he  known  that  this  large  Union 
army  was  little  more  than  one-fourth  the  size  of 
his  own. 

But  his  alarm  was  soon  increased.  On  the 
evening  of  the  8th  of  January,  a  spy  entered  his 
camp,  and  reported  that  Craven,  with  thirty- 
three  hundred  men,  was  within  twelve  hours' 
march  at  the  westward. 

The  big  general  (he  weighed  three  hundred 
pounds)  was  panic-stricken.  Believing  Garfi eld's 
force  to  number  ten  thousand,  this  reinforce 
ment  would  carry  his  strength  up  to  over  thirteen 
thousand.  Ruin  and  defeat,  as  he  fancied,  stared 
him  in  the  face,  for  how  could  his  five  thousand 
men  encounter  nearly  three  times  their  number? 
They  would,  of  course,  be  overwhelmed.  There 
was  safety  only  in  flight. 

So  the  demoralized  commander  gave  orders  to 
break  camp,  and  retreated  precipitately,  abandon 
ing  or  burning  a  large  portion  of  his  supplies. 

Garfield  saw  the  fires,  and  guessed  what  had 
happened,  being  in  the  secret  of  Marshall's  delu- 


JAMES  A.    GAEFIELD.  213 

sion.  He  mounted  his  horse,  and,  with  a  thousand 
men,  entered  the  deserted  camp  at  nine  in  the 
evening.  The  stores  that  were  yet  unconsumed 
he  rescued  from  destruction  for  the  use  of  his  own 
army. 

In  order  to  keep  up  the  delusion,  he  sent  off  a 
detachment  to  harass  the  retreat  of  his  ponderous 
adversary  and  fill  his  mind  with  continued  disquiet. 

The  whole  thing  was  a  huge  practical  joke,  but 
not  one  that  the  rebels  were  likely  to  enjoy. 
Fancy  a  big  boy  of  eighteen  fleeing  in  dismay 
from  a  small  urchin  of  eight,  and  we  have  a  par 
allel  to  this  flight  of  Gen.  Marshall  from  an  in 
trenched  position,  with  five  thousand  troops, 
when  his  opponent  could  muster  but  fourteen 
hundred  men  in  the  open  field. 

Thus  far,  I  think,  it  will  be  agreed  that  Colonel 
Gariield  was  a  strategist  of  the  first  order.  His 
plan  required  a  boldness  and  dash  which,  under 
the  circumstances,  did  him  the  greatest  credit. 

The  next  morning  Colonel  Craven  arrived,  and 
found,  to  his  amazement,  that  Garfield,  single- 
handed,  had  forced  his  formidable  enemy  from  his 
strong  position,  and  was  in  triumphant  possession 
of  the  deserted  rebel  camp. 


CHAPTER  XXIY. 

THE    BATTLE   OF    MIDDLE    CKEEK. 

COL.  GARFIELD  Las  gained  a  great  advantage, 
but  he  knows  that  it  must  be  followed  up.  His 
ambition  is  not  satisfied.  He  means  to  force  a 
fight  with  Marshall,  despite  the  odds. 

He  has  been  reinforced,  but  Craven's  men  are 
completely  exhausted  by  their  long  and  toilsome 
march.  They  are  hardly  able  to  drag  one  foot 
after  the  other.  Garfield  knows  this,  but  he  ex 
plains  to  his  men  what  he  proposes  to  do.  He 
orders  those  who  have  strength  to  come  forward. 
Of  the  men  under  his  immediate  command  seven 
hundred  obey  the  summons.  Of  Craven's  weary 
followers  four  hundred  heroic  men  volunteer  to 
accompany  him. 

So  at  noon  of  the  9th,  with  eleven  hundred 
men,  Garfield  sets  out  for  Prestonburg,  sending 

all  his  available  cavalry  to  follow  the  line  of  the 

(214) 


JAMES  A.   GABFIELD.  215 

enemy's  retreat.  At  nine  o'clock  that  night,  after 
a  inarch  of  eighteen  miles,  he  reaches  the  mouth 
of  Abbott's  Creek  with  his  eleven  hundred  men. 
He  hears  that  his  opponent  is  encamped  three 
miles  higher  up  on  the  same  stream.  He  sends 
an  order  back  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Sheldon, 
who  is  left  in  command  at  Paintville,  to  bring  up 
every  available  man  with  all  possible  dispatch, 
for  he  intends  to  force  a  battle  in  the  morning. 

He  requires  to  know  the  disposition  of  Mar 
shall's  forces,  and  here  the  gallant  scout,  John 
Jordan,  again  is  of  service  to  him.  While  a  dozen 
Confederates  were  grinding  at  a  mill,  they  were 
surprised  by  as  many  Union  men,  who,  taking 
them  by  surprise,  captured  their  corn,  and  made 
them  prisoners.  Jordan  eyed  the  miller  with  a 
critical  eye,  and  a  plan  was  instantly  formed. 
The  miller  was  a  tall,  gaunt  man,  and  his  clothes 
would  fit  the  scout.  He  takes  a  fancy  to  exchange 
raiment  with  the  miller.  Then,  smearing  his  face 
with  meal,  he  goes  back  to  the  Confederate  camp 
in  a  new  character.  Even  if  he  is  surprised  he 
will  escape  suspicion,  for  the  miller  is  a  pro 
nounced  disunionist,  and  he  looks  his  very  image. 

His  midnight  ramble  enabled  hi  in  to  learn  pre- 


216  BOYHOOD  AtfD  MANHOOD   OF 

cisely  what  it  was  important  for  Garfield  to  know. 
He  found  out  their  exact  position,  and  that  they 
had  laid  an  ambuscade  for  the  Union  commander. 
They  were  waiting  for  him,  strongly  posted  on  a 
semicircular  hill  at  the  forks  of  Middle  Creek,  on 
both  sides  of  the  road,  with  cannon  command 
ing  its  whole  length,  hidden  by  the  trees  and 
underbrush. 

"  They  think  they've  got  you,  general,"  said 
Jordan.  "  They're  waitiii'  for  you  as  a  cat  waits 
for  a  mouse." 

Upon  a  steep  ridge  called  Abbott's  Hill,  the 
Union  soldiers,  tired  and  sleepy,  had  thrown  them 
selves  upon  the  wet  ground.  There  was  a  dense 
fog,  shutting  out  the  moon  and  stars,  and  shroud 
ing  the  lonely  mountain  in  darkness.  The  rain 
was  driven  in  blinding  gusts  into  the  faces  of  the 
shivering  men,  and  tired  as  they  were  they  hailed 
with  joy  the  coming  of  morning.  For  more  than 
one  brave  man  it  was  destined  to  be  his  last  day 
upon  earth. 

At  four  o'clock  they  started  on  their  march. 
About  daybreak,  while  rounding  a  hill,  their  ad 
vance  guard  was  charged  upon  by  a  body  of  Con 
federate  horsemen.  In  return  Gariield  gave  the 


JAMES  A.   OARF1ELD.  217 

Confederates  a  volley,  that  sent  them  reeling  up 
the  valley. 

It  was  clear  that  the  main  body  of  the  enemy 
was  not  far  away.  To  determine  this  Garfield 
sent  forward  a  body  of  skirmishers  to  draw  the 
tire  of  the  enemy.  He  succeeded,  for  a  twelve- 
pound  shell  whistled  above  the  trees,  then  plowed 
up  the  hill,  and  buried  itself  in  the  ground  at  the 
feet  of  the  little  band  of  skirmishers. 

Noon  came,  and  Garfield  made  the  necessary 
preparations  for  battle.  He  could  not  have  been 
without  apprehension,  for  he  knew,  though  the 
enemy  did  not,  that  their  force  was  far  superior 
to  his.  He  sent  forward  his  mounted  escort  of 
twelve  men  to  make  a  charge  and  draw  the 
enemy's  fire.  His  plan  succeeded.  Another  shell 
whistled  over  their  heads,  and  the  long  roll  of 
five  thousand  muskets  was  heard. 

It  was  certainly  a  remarkable  battle,  when  we 
consider  that  a  small  band  of  eleven  hundred  men 
without  cannon  had  undertaken  to  attack  a  force 
of  five  thousand,  supported  by  twelve  pieces  of 
artillery,  charging  up  a  rocky  hill,  over  stumps, 
over  stones,  over  fallen  trees,  and  over  high  in- 
trenchments. 


218  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

"  The  battle  was  fought  on  the  margin  of  Mid 
dle  Creek,  a  narrow,  rapid  stream,  and  three 
miles  from  where  it  finds  its  way  into  the  Big 
Sandy,  through  the  sharp  spurs  of  the  Cumber 
land  Mountain.  A  rocky  road,  not  ten  feet  in 
width,  winds  along  this  stream,  and  on  its  two 
banks  abrupt  ridges,  with  steep  and  rocky  sides, 
overgrown  with  trees  and  underbrush,  shut  closely 
down  upon  the  road  and  the  little  streamlet.  At 
twelve  o'clock  Garfield  had  gained  the  crest  of 
the  ridge  at  the  right  of  the  road,  and  the  charge 
of  his  handful  of  horsemen  had  drawn  Marshall's 
fire,  and  disclosed  his  actual  position. 

"  The  main  force  of  the  Confederates  occupied 
the  crests  of  the  two  ridges  at  the  left  of  the 
stream,  but  a  strong  detachment  was  posted  on 
the  right,  and  a  battery  of  twelve  pieces  held  the 
forks  of  the  creek,  and  commanded  the  approach 
of  the  Union  army.  It  was  Marshall's  plan  to 
drive  Garfield  along  the  road,  and  then,  taking 
him  between  two  enfilading  fires,  to  surround  and 
utterly  destroy  him.  But  his  hasty  fire  betrayed 
his  design,  and  unmasked  his  entire  position. 

"  Garfield  acted  with  promptness  and  decision. 
A  hundred  undergraduates,  recruited  from  his 


JAMES  A.   OAR  FIELD.  219 

own  college,  were  ordered  to  cross  the  stream, 
climb  the  ridge  whence  the  fire  had  been  hottest, 
and  bring  on  the  battle.  Boldly  the  little  band 
plunged  into  the  creek,  the  icy  water  np  to  their 
waists,  and  clinging  to  the  trees  and  underbrush, 
climbed  the  rocky  ascent.  Half-way  up  the  ridge 
the  fire  of  at  least  two  thousand  rifles  opens  upon 
them ;  but,  springing  from  tree  to  tree,  they  press 
on,  and  at  last  reach  the  summit.  Then  suddenly 
the  hill  is  gray  with  Confederates,  who,  rising 
from  ambush,  pour  their  deadly  volleys  into  the 
little  band  of  only  one  hundred.  In  a  moment 
they  waver,  but  their  leader  calls  out,  'Every 
man  to  a  tree !  Give  them  as  good  as  they  send, 
my  boys ! ' 

"  The  Confederates,  behind  rocks  and  a  rude 
intrenchment,  are  obliged  to  expose  their  heads  to 
take  aim  at  the  advancing  column;  but  the  Union 
troops,  posted  behind  the  huge  oaks  and  maples, 
can  stand  erect,  and  load  and  fire,  fully  protected. 
Though  they  are  outnumbered  ten  to  one,  the 
contest  is  therefore,  for  a  time,  not  so  very  un 
equal. 

"But  soon  the  Confederates,  exhausted  with 
the  obstinate  resistance,  rush  from  cover,  and 


220  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

charge  upon  the  little  handful  with  the  bayonet. 
Slowly  they  are  driven  down  the  hill,  and  two  of 
them  fall  to  the  ground  wounded.  One  never 
rises ;  the  other,  a  lad  of  only  eighteen,  is  shot 
through  the  thigh,  and  one  of  his  comrades  turns 
back  to  bear  him  to  a  place  of  safety.  The  ad 
vancing  Confederates  are  within  thirty  feet,  when 
one  of  them  fires,  and  his  bullet  strikes  a  tree 
directly  above  the  head  of  the  Union  soldier.  lie 
turns,  levels  his  musket,  and  the  Confederate  is 
in  eternity.  Then  the  rest  are  upon  him ;  but, 
zigzagging  from  tree  to  tree,  he  is  soon  with  his 
driven  column.  But  not  far  are  the  brave  boys 
driven.  A  few  rods  lower  down  they  hear  the 
voice  of  the  brave  Captain  Williams,  their  leader. 

"  '  To  the  trees  again,  my  boys  ! '  he  cries.  f  We 
may  as  well  die  here  as  in  Ohio  ! ' 

"  To  the  trees  they  go,  and  in  a  moment  the 
advancing  horde  is  checked,  and  then  rolled  back 
ward.  Up  the  hill  they  turn,  firing  as  they  go, 
and  the  little  band  follows.  Soon  the  Confed 
erates  reach  the  spot  where  the  Hiram  boy  lies 
wounded,  and  one  of  them  says :  ;  Boy,  give  me 
your  musket.' 

"  i  Not  the  gun,  but  its  contents,'  cries  the  boy, 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  221 

and  the  Confederate  falls  mortally  wounded. 
Another  raises  his  weapon  to  brain  the  prostrate 
lad,  but  he  too  falls,  killed  with  his  comrade's  own 
rifle.  And  all  this  is  done  while  the  hero-boy  is 
on  the  ground,  bleeding.  An  hour  afterward 
his  comrades  bear  the  boy  to  a  sheltered  spot  on 
the  other  side  of  the  streamlet,  and  then  the  first 
word  of  complaint  escapes  him.  As  they  are 
taking  off  his  leg,  he  says,  in  his  agony,  '  Oh, 
what  will  in  other  do?'" 

Poor  boy !  At  that  terrible  moment,  in  the 
throes  of  his  fierce  agony,  he  thought  not  of  him 
self,  but  of  the  mother  at  home,  who  was  de 
pendent  on  his  exertions  for  a  livelihood.  For  in 
war  it  is  not  alone  the  men  in  the  field  who  are 
called  upon  to  suffer,  but  the  mothers,  the  wives, 
and  the  children,  left  at  home,  whose  hearts  are 
rent  with  anxiety — to  whom,  at  any  moment,  may 
come  the  tidings  of  the  death  of  their  loved  one. 

On  a  rocky  height,  commanding  the  field,  Gar- 
field  watched  the  tide  of  battle.  He  saw  that  it 
was  unequal,  and  that  there  was  danger  that  his 
troops  would  be  overmatched.  He  saw  that  they 
were  being  driven,  and  that  they  would  lose  the 
hill  if  not  supported. 


222         BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OS 

Instantly  he  ordered  to  the  rescue  five  hundred 
of  the  Ohio  Fortieth  and  Forty-second,  under 
Major  Pardee  and  Colonel  Craven.  They  dashed 
boldly  into  the  stream,  holding  their  cartridge- 
boxes  above  their  heads,  and  plunged  into  the 
fight,  shouting : 

"  Hurrah  for  Williams  and  the  Hiram  boys ! " 

But  their  position  was  most  critical,  for  shot, 
and  shell,  and  canister,  and  the  fire  of  four  thou 
sand  muskets  are  now  concentrated  upon  them. 

"  This  will  never  do !  "  cries  Garfield.  "  Who 
will  volunteer  to  carry  the  other  mountain  ? " 

Colonel  Munroe,  of  the  Twenty-second  Ken 
tucky,  responded  quickly,  "  We  will.  We  know 
every  inch  of  the  ground." 

"  Go  in,  then,"  cries  Garfield,  "and  give  them 
Columbia!" 

I  have  not  space  to  record  the  varying  fortunes 
of  the  day.  For  five  hours  the  contest  rages.  By 
turns  the  Union  forces  are  driven  back,  and  then, 
with  a  brave  charge,  they  regain  their  lost 
ground,  and  from  behind  rocks  and  trees  pour  in 
their  murderous  volleys.  The  battle  began  at 
noon,  and  when  the  sun.  sets  on  the  brief  winter 
day  it  is  still  unfinished. 


JAMES  A.   GARF1ELD.  223 

Posted  on  a  projecting  rock,  in  full  sight  of 
both  armies,  stands  the  Union  commander — his 
head  uncovered,  his  hair  steaming  in  the  wind, 
and  his  heart  full  of  alternate  hopes  and  fears.  It 
looks  as  if  the  day  were  lost — as  if  the  gallant 
eleven  hundred  were  conquered  at  last,  when,  at 
a  critical  moment,  the  starry  banner  is  seen 
waving  over  an  advancing  host.  It  is  Sheldon 

O  O 

and     reinforcements— long    and    anxiously    ex 
pected  !      Their   shouts   are    taken    up    by    the 
eleven  hundred !     The  enemy  see  them  and  are 
panic-stricken. 
The  day  is  won  ! 


CHAPTER  XXY. 

THE   PERILOUS    TRIP    UP    THE    BIG    SANDY. 

I  HAVE  followed  Col.  Garn'eld  through  the 
Kentucky  campaign,  not  because  it  compared  in 
importance  with  many  other  military  operations 
of  the  war,  but  because  in  its  conduct  he  display 
ed  in  a  remarkable  degree  some  of  tlie  traits  by 
which  he  was  distinguished.  From  a  military 
point  of  view  it  may  be  criticised.  His  attack 
upon  an  enemy  far  his  superior  in  numbers,  and  in 
a  more  favorable  position,  would  scarcely  have 
been  undertaken  by  an  officer  of  more  military 
experience.  Yet,  once  undertaken,  it  was  carried 
through  with  remarkable  dash  and  brilliancy,  and 
the  strategy  displayed  was  of  a  high  order. 

I  must  find  room  for  the  address  issued  to  his 
little  army  on  the  day  succeeding  the  battle,  for 
it  tells,  in  brief,  the  story  of  the  campaign  : 

"  SOLDIERS  OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH  BRIGADE  :  I  am 

(224) 


JAMES  A.    QARFIELD.  225 

proud  of  you  all !  In  four  weeks  you  have 
marched,  some  eighty  and  some  a  hundred  miles, 
over  almost  impassable  roads.  One  night  in  four 
you  have  slept,  often  in  the  storm,  with  only  a 
wintry  sky  above  your  heads.  You  have  inarched 
in  the  face  of  a  foe  of  more  than  double  your 
number — led  on  by  chiefs  who  have  won  a  na 
tional  reputation  under  the  old  flag — intrenched 
in  hills  of  his  own  choosing,  and  strengthened  by 
all  the  appliances  of  military  art.  With  no  expe 
rience  but  the  consciousness  of  your  own  man 
hood,  you  have  driven  him  from  his  strongholds, 
pursued  his  inglorious  flight,  and  compelled  him 
to  meet  you  in  battle.  When  forced  to  fight,  he 
sought  the  shelter  of  rocks  and  hills.  You  drove 
him  from  his  position,  leaving  scores  of  his  bloody 
dead  unburied.  His  artillery  thundered  against 
you,  but  you  compelled  him  to  flee  by  the  light 
of  his  burning  stores,  and  to  leave  even  the  ban 
ner  of  his  rebellion  behind  him.  I  greet  you  as 
brave  men.  Our  common  country  will  not  for 
get  you.  She  will  not  forget  the  sacred  dead 
who  fell  beside  you,  nor  those  of  your  comrades 
who  won  scars  of  honor  on  the  field. 

"  I  have  recalled  you  from  the  pursuit  that  you 
15 


226  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

may  regain  vigor  for  still  greater  exertions.  Let 
no  one  tarnish  his  well-earned  honor  by  any  act 
unworthy  an  American  soldier.  Remember  your 
duties  as  American  citizens,  and  sacredly  respect 
the  rights  and  property  of  those  with  whom  you 
have  come  in  contact.  Let  it  not  be  said  that 
good  men  dread  the  approach  of  an  American 
army. 

"  Officers  and  soldiers,  your  duty  has  been  no 
bly  done.  For  this  I  thank  you." 

The  battle  had  been  won,  but  the  victorious 
arrny  was  in  jeopardy.  They  had  less  than  three 
days'  rations,  and  there  were  great  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  procuring  a  further  supply.  The  rainy 
season  had  made  the  roads  impassable  for  all  but 
horsemen. 

Still  there  was  the  river.  But  the  Big  Sandy 
was  now  swollen  beyond  its  banks,  and  the  rapid 
current  was  filled  with  floating  logs  and  uptorn 
trees.  The  oldest  and  most  experienced  boatmen 
shook  their  heads,  and  would  not  attempt  the 
perilous  voyage. 

What  was  to  be  done  ? 

Col.  Garfield  had  with  him  Brown,  the  scout 
and  ex-canal-boatman,  who  had  returned  from 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  227 

reconnoitering  Marshall's  camp,  with  a  bullet 
through  his  hat.  Garfield  asked  his  advice. 

"  It's  which  and  t'other,  General  Jim,"  he  an 
swered,  u  starvin'  or  drownin'.  I'd  rather  drown 
nur  starve.  So  gin  the  word,  and,  dead  or  alive, 
I'll  git  down  the  river ! " 

Garfield  gave  the  word,  but  he  did  not  let  the 
brave  scout  go  alone.  Together  in  a  small  skiff 
they  "got  down  the  river."  It  was  no  light  task. 
The  Big  Sandy  was  now  a  raging  torrent,  sixty 
feet  in  depth,  and,  in  many  places,  above  the  tops 
of  the  tall  trees  which  grew  along  its  margin.  In 
some  deep  and  narrow  gorges,  where  the  steep 
banks  shut  down  upon  the  stream,  these  trees 
had  been  undermined  at  the  roots,  and,  falling  in 
ward,  had  locked  their  arms  together,  forming  a 
net- work  that  well-nigh  prevented  the  passage  of 
the  small  skiff  and  its  two  navigators.  Where  a 
small  skiff  could  scarcely  pass,  could  they  run  a 
large  steamboat  loaded  with  provisions  ? 

"  Other  men  might  ask  that  question,  but  not 
the  backwoods  boy  who  had  learned  navigation  on 
the  waters  of  the  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  Canal. 
He  pushed  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  there 
took  possession  of  the  Sandy  Valley,  a  small 


228  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

steamer  in  the  quartermaster's  service.  Loading 
her  with  supplies,  he  set  about  starting  up  the 
river,  but  the  captain  of  the  boat  declared  the 
thing  was  impossible.  Not  stopping  to  argue 
the  point,  Garh'eld  ordered  him  and  his  crew  on 
board,  and  himself  taking  the  helm,  set  out  up 
the  river. 

"  Brown  he  stationed  at  the  bow,  where,  with 
a  long  f ending-pole  in  his  hand,  he  was  to  keep 
one  eye  on  the  floating  logs  and  uprooted  trees, 
the  other  on  the  chicken-hearted  captain. 

"  The  river  surged  and  boiled  and  whirled 
against  the  boat,  tossing  her  about  as  if  she  were 
a  cockle-shell.  With  every  turn  of  her  wheel  she 
trembled  from  stem  to  stern,  and  with  a  full  head 
of  steam  could  only  stagger  along  at  the  rate  of 
three  miles  an  hour.  When  night  came  the  cap 
tain  begged  to  tie  up  till  morning,  for  breasting 
that  flood  in  the  dark  was  sheer  madness ;  but 
Brown  cried  out,  '  Put  her  ahead,  Gineral  Jim,' 
and  Garfield  clutched  the  helm  and  drove  her  on 
through  the  darkness. 

O 

"  Soon  they  came  to  a  sudden  bend  in  the 
stream,  where  the  swift  current  formed  a  furious 
whirlpool,  and  this  catching  the  laboring  boat, 


JAMES  A.    QARFIELD.  229 

whirled  her  suddenly  round,  and  drove  her,  head 
on,  into  the  quicksands.  Mattocks  were  plied, 
and  excavations  made  round  the  imbedded  bow, 
and  the  bowman  uttered  oaths  loud  enough  to 
have  raised  a  small  earthquake  ;  but  still  the  boat 
was  immovable.  She  was  stuck  fast  in  the  mud, 
and  every  effort  to  move  her  was  fruitless.  Gar- 
field  ordered  a  small  boat  to  be  lowered,  and  take 
a  line  to  the  other  bank,  by  which  to  warp  the 
steamer  free ;  but  the  captain  and  now  the  crew 
protested  it  was  certain  death  to  attempt  to  cross 
that  foaming  torrent  at  midnight. 

"  They  might  as  well  have  repeated  to  him 
the  Creed  and  the  Ten  Commandments,  for  Gar- 
field  himself  sprang  into  the  boat  and  called  to 
Brown  to  follow.  He  took  the  helm  and  laid 
her  bow  across  the  stream,  but  the  swift  current 
swept  them  downward.  After  incredible  labor 
they  made  the  opposite  bank,  but  far  below  the 
steamboat.  Closely  hugging  the  shore,  they  now 
crept  up  the  stream,  and  fastening  the  line  to  a 
tree,  rigged  a  windlass,  and  finally  warped  the 
vessel  again  into  deep  water. 

61  All  that  night,  and  all  the  next  day,  and  all 
the  following  night  they  struggled  with  the  furi- 


230         BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

ous  river,  G-arfield  never  but  once  leaving  the 
helm,  and  then  for  only  a  few  hours'  sleep,  which 
he  snatched  in  his  clothes  in  the  day-time.  At 
last  they  rounded  to  at  the  Union  camp,  and  then 
went  up  a  cheer  that  might  have  been  heard  all 
over  Kentucky.  His  waiting  men,  frantic  with 
joy,  seized  their  glorious  commander,  and  were 
with  difficulty  prevented  from  bearing  him  on 
their  shoulders  to  his  quarters." 

The  little  army  was  saved  from  starvation  by 
the  canal-boy,  who  had  not  forgotten  his  old 
trade.  lie  had  risked  his  life  a  dozen  times  over 
in  making  the  perilous  trip,  which  has  been  so 
graphically  described  in  the  passages  I  have 
quoted.  But  for  his  early  and  humble  experi 
ence,  he  never  would  have  been  able  to  bring  the 
little  steamer  up  the  foaming  river.  Little  did  he 
dream  in  the  days  when,  as  a  boy,  he  guided  the 
Evening  Star,  that  fifteen  years  hence,  an  officer 
holding  an  important  command  he  would  use  the 
knowledge  then  acquired  to  save  a  famishing 
army.  We  can  not  wonder  that  his  men  should 
have  been  devotedly  attached  to  such  a  com 
mander. 

I  have  said  that  the  Kentucky  campaign  was 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  231 

not  one  of  the  most  important  operations  of  the 
civil  war,  but  its  successful  issue  was  most  wel 
come,  coming  at  the  time  it  did.  It  came  after 
a  series  of  disasters,  which  had  produced  wide 
spread  despondency,  and  even  dimmed  the  cour 
age  of  President  Lincoln.  It  kindled  hope  in 
the  despondent,  and  nerved  patriotic  arms  to  new 
and  vigorous  efforts. 

u  Why  did  Garfield,  in  two  weeks,  do  what  it 
would  have  taken  one  of  you  Regular  folks  two 
months  to  accomplish  ?  "  asked  the  President,  of 
a  distinguished  army  officer. 

"  Because  he  was  not  educated  at  West  Point," 
answered  the  officer,  laughing. 

u  No,"  replied  Mr.  Lincoln  ;  "  that  wasn't  the 
reason.  It  was  because,  when  a  boy,  he  had  to 
work  for  a  living." 

This  was  literally  true.  To  his  struggling  boy 
hood  and  early  manhood,  and  the  valuable  expe 
rience  it  brought  him,  Garfield  was  indebted  for 
the  strength  and  practical  knowledge  which 
brought  him  safely  through  a  campaign  con 
ducted  against  fearful  odds. 

His  country  was  not  ungrateful.  He  received 
the  thanks  of  the  commanding  general  for  serv- 


232  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

ices  which  "  called  into  action  the  highest  quali 
ties  of  a  soldier — fortitude,  perseverance,  cour 
age,"  and  a  few  weeks  later  a  commission  as 
brigadier-general  of  volunteers,  to  date  from  the 
battle  of  Middle  Creek. 

So  Jim  Garfield,  the  canal-boy,  has  become  a 
general.  It  is  an  important  step  upward,  but 
where  are  others  to  come  ? 

If  this  were  designed  to  be  a  complete  biog 
raphy  of  General  Garfield,  I  should  feel  it  my 
duty  to  chronicle  the  important  part  he  took  in 
the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  where  he  acted  as 
chief  of  staff  to  General  Rosecranz,  aiding  his 
superior  officer  at  a  most  critical  point  in  the  bat 
tle  by  advice  which  had  an  important  influence 
in  saving  the  day.  I  should  like  to  describe  the 
wonderful  and  perilous  ride  of  three  miles  which 
he  took,  exposing  his  life  at  every  moment,  to 
warn  General  Thomas  that  he  is  out-flanked,  and 
that  at  least  seventy  thousand  men  are  closing 
down  upon  his  right  wing,  to  crush  his  twenty- 
five  thousand  to  fragments.  Sometimes  I  hope  a 
poet,  of  fitting  inspiration,  will  sing  of  that  ride, 
and  how,  escaping  from  shot  and  shell,  he  plunged 
down  the  hill  through  the  fiery  storm,  reaching 


JAMES  A.    QARFIELD.  233 

Thomas  in  safety,  though  his  noble  horse  at  that 
moment  fell  dead  at  his  feet.  I  can  riot  spare 
time  for  the  record,  but  must  refer  my  young 
reader  to  the  pages  of  Edmund  Kirke,  or  General 
James  S.  Brisbin. 

Other  duties,  and  another  important  field  of 
action,  await  Garfield,  and  we  must  hurry  on. 
But,  before  doing  so,  I  must  not  fail  to  record 
that  the  War  Department,  recognizing  his  im 
portant  services  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  sent 
him  a  fortnight  later  the  commission  of  a  major- 
general. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE    CANAL-BOY   BECOMES   A   CONGRESSMAN. 

WHILE  Garfield  was  serving  his  country  to  the 
utmost  of  his  ability  in  the  field,  the  voters  of  the 
Nineteenth  District  of  Ohio,  in  which  he  had  his 
home,  were  called  upon  to  select  a  man  to  repre 
sent  them  in  Congress.  It  perhaps  exceeds  any 
other  portion  of  the  State  in  its  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  education  and  the  general  intelligence  of 

o  o 

its  inhabitants.  The  people  were  mostly  of  New 
England  origin,  and  in  selecting  a  representative 
they  wanted  a  man  who  was  fitted  by  education, 
as  well  as  fidelity,  to  do  them  credit. 

Their  choice  fell  upon  Garfield,  who  was  known 
to  them  at  home  as  the  head  of  one  of  their  chief 
institutions  of  learning,  and  whose  reputation  had 
not  suffered  in  the  field.  They  did  not  even  con 
sult  him,  but  put  him  in  nomination,  and  elected 
him  by  an  overwhelming  majority. 

It  was  a  gratifying  compliment,   for   in    our 
(234) 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  235 

country  an  election  to  Congress  is  regarded  as  a 
high  honor,  which  no  one  need  be  reluctant  to 
accept.  We  have  on  record  one  of  our  most  distin 
guished  statesmen — John  Quiney  Adams — who, 
after  filling  the  Presidential  chair,  was  content  to 
go  back  to  Washington  as  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  from  his  district  in  Massa 
chusetts.  It  was  undoubtedly  more  in  harmony 
with  the  desires  and  tastes  of  the  young  man — for 
he  was  still  a  young  man — than  service  in  the 
field.  But  he  felt  that  that  was  not  the  question. 
Where  was  he  more  needed  ?  The  war  was  not 
over.  Indeed,  it  seemed  doubtful  when  it  would 
be  finished ;  and  Garfield  was  now  in  a  position 
to  serve  his  country  well  as  a  military  com 
mander. 

When  on  the  march  to  Chattanooga,  Garfield 
consulted  Gen.  Rosecranz,  owning  that  he  was 
perplexed  in  attempting  to  decide. 

Rosecranz  said  :  "  The  war  is  not  yet  over,  nor 
will  it  be  for  some  time  to  come.  Many  ques 
tions  will  arise  in  Congress  which  will  require  not 
only  statesm  aii-like  treatment,  but  the  advice  of 
men  having  an  acquaintance  with  military  affairs. 
For  that  reason  you  will,  I  think,  do  as  good 


236  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

service  to  the  country  in  Congress  as  in  the  field. 
1  not  only  think  that  you  can  accept  the  position 
with  honor,  but  that  it  is  your  duty  to  do  it." 

He  added,  and  we  may  be  sure  that  his  advice 
accorded  with  the  personal  judgment  of  the  man 
whom  he  was  addressing,  "  Be  true  to  yourself, 
and  you  will  make  your  mark  before  your 
country." 

Some  months  were  to  elapse  before  he  would 
require  to  go  to  Washington,  for  Congress  was 
not  to  meet  till  December. 

He  went  to  Washington,  undecided  even  yet 
whether  to  remain  as  a  legislator,  or  to  return  to 
his  old  comrades  in  the  army.  He  only  wished 
to  know  where  he  could  be  of  most  service  to  his 
country,  and  he  finally  decided  to  lay  the  matter 
before  President  Lincoln. 

Lincoln  gave  substantially  the  same  advice  as 
Rosecranz:  "We  need  men  who  will  help  us 
carry  the  necessary  war  measures ;  and,  besides, 
we  are  greatly  lacking  in  men  of  military  expe 
rience  in  the  House  to  promote  legislation  about 
the  army.  It  is  your  duty,  therefore,  to  enter 
Congress." 

When,  on  the  5th  of  December,  1863,  Garfield 


JAMES  A.   OABFIELD.  237 

took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  he 
was  the  youngest  member  of  that  body.  The 
Military  Committee  was  the  most  important  com 
mittee  of  Congress,  and  he  was  put  upon  that,  on 
account  of  his  practical  experience  in  the  field. 
This,  of  course,  brought  him,  though  a  new  and 
young  member,  into  immediate  prominence,  and 
his  familiarity  with  the  wants  of  the  army  enabled 
him  to  be  of  great  service. 

I  do  not  propose  to  detail  at  tiresome  length 
the  legislative  achievements  of  Gen.  Garfield  in 
the  new  position  which  he  was  destined  to  fill  for 
eighteen  years.  I  shall  only  refer  to  such  as 
illustrate  his  characteristic  devotion  to  duty  with 
out  special  regard  to  his  own  interests.  He  never 
hesitated  to  array  himself  in  opposition  to  the 
popular  will,  if  he  thought  the  people  were 
wrong.  It  was  not  long  before  an  occasion 
came  up  which  enabled  him  to  assert  his  inde 
pendence. 

The  country  needed  soldiers,  and  had  in 
augurated  a  system  of  bounties  which  should 
tempt  men  to  join  the  ranks  of  the  country's  de 
fenders.  It  was  only  a  partial  success.  Some 
men,  good  and  true,  were  led  to  join  by  the  offer 


238         BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

of  a  sum  which  made  them  more  at  ease  about 
the  comfort  of  their  families,  but  many  joined 
the  service  from  mercenary  considerations  only, 
who  seized  the  first  opportunity  to  desert,  and 
turning  up  in  another  locality,  enlisted  again  and 
obtained  a  second  bounty.  These  men  obtained 
the  name  of  bounty-jumpers,  and  there  was  a  host 
of  them.  Yet  the  measure  was  popular  with  sol 
diers,  and  Congress  was  unanimously  in  favor  of 
it.  Great  was  the  amazement  of  his  fellow- 
members  when  the  young  member  from  the 
Nineteenth  Ohio  district  rose  in  his  seat  and 
earnestly  opposed  it.  He  objected  that  the  policy 
was  ruinous,  involving  immense  expense,  while 
effecting  little  good.  He  claimed  that  the  country 
had  a  right  to  the  service  of  every  one  of  its  chil 
dren  at  such  a  crisis,  without  hire  and  without 
reward. 

But  one  man  stood  with  him,  so  unpopular 
was  the  stand  he  had  taken  ;  but  it  was  not  long 
before  the  bounty  system  broke  down,  and  Gar- 
field's  views  were  adopted. 

Later  on  he  had  another  chance  to  show  his 
independence.  President  Lincoln,  foreseeing  that 
at  a  certain  date  not  far  ahead  the  time  of  enlist- 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  239 

ment  of  nearly  half  the  army  would  expire,  came 
before  Congress  and  asked  for  power  to  draft 
men  into  service.  It  met  with  great  opposition. 
"What!  lorce  men  into  the  tield !  Why,  we 
might  as  well  live  under  a  despotism  ! "  exclaimed 
many ;  and  the  members  of  Congress,  who  knew 
how  unpopular  the  measure  would  be  among  their 
constituents,  defeated  it  by  a  two  thirds  vote. 

It  was  a  critical  juncture.  As  Lincoln  had 
said  in  substance,  all  military  operations  would 
be  checked.  Not  only  could  not  the  war  be 
pushed,  but  the  Government  could  not  stand 
where  it  did.  Sherman  would  have  to  come  back 
from  Atlanta,  Grant  from  the  Peninsula. 

The  voting  was  over,  and  the  Government  was 
despondent.  Then  it  was  that  Garfield  rose,  and 
moving  a  reconsideration,  made  a  speech  full  of 
lire  and  earnestness,  and  the  House,  carried  by 
storm,  passed  the  bill,  and  President  Lincoln 
made  a  draft  for  half  a  million  men. 

Gartield  knew  that  this  action  would  be  un 
popular  in  his  district.  It  might  defeat  his  re 
election  ;  but  that  mattered  not.  The  President 
had  been  assailed  by  the  same  argument,  and  had 
answered,  "  Gentlemen,  it  is  not  necessary  that  I 


240  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

should  bo  reflected,  but  it  is  necessary  that  I  should 
put  down  this  rebellion."  With  this  declaration 
the  young  Congressman  heartily  sympathized. 

Remonstrances  did  come  from  his  district. 
Several  of  his  prominent  supporters  addressed 
him  a  letter,  demanding  his  resignation.  He 
wrote  them  that  he  had  acted  according  to  his 
views  of  the  needs  of  the  country ;  that  he  was 
sorry  his  judgment  did  not  agree  with  theirs,  but 
that  he  must  follow  his  own.  He  expected  to 
live  long  enough  to  have  them  all  confess  that  he 
was  right. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  he  made  his  cele 
brated  reply  to  Mr.  Alexander  Long,  of  Ohio, 
a  fellow-Congressman,  who  proposed  to  yield 
everything  and  to  recognize  the  Southern  Con 
federacy. 

The  excitement  was  intense.  In  the  midst  of 
it  Garneld  rose  and  made  the  following  speech : 

"  ME.  CHAIRMAN,"  he  said,  "  I  am  reminded  by 
the  occurrences  of  this  afternoon  of  two  characters 
in  the  war  of  the  Revolution  as  compared  with 
two  others  in  the  war  of  to-day. 

"  The  first  was  Lord  Fairfax,  who  dwelt  near 
the  Potomac,  a  few  miles  from  us.  "When  the 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  241 

great  contest  was  opened  between  the  mother 
country  and  the  colonies,  Lord  Fairfax,  after  a 
protracted  struggle  with  his  own  heart,  decided 
he  must  go  with  the  mother  country.  He  gath 
ered  his  mantle  about  him  and  went  over  grandly 
and  solemnly. 

"  There  was  another  man,  who  cast  in  his  lot 
with  the  struggling  colonists,  and  continued  with 
them  till  the  war  was  well-nigh  ended.  In  an 
hour  of  darkness  that  just  preceded  the  glory  of 
the  morning,  he  hatched  the  treason  to  surrender 
forever  all  that  had  been  gained  to  the  enemies 
of  his  country.  Benedict  Arnold  was  that  man ! 

"  Fairfax  and  Arnold  find  their  parallels  of  to 
day. 

"  When  this  war  began  many  good  men  stood 
hesitating  and  doubting  what  they  ought  to  do. 
Robert  E.  Lee  sat  in  his  house  across  the  river 
here,  doubting  and  delaying,  and  going  off  at  last 
almost  tearfully  to  join  the  army  of  his  State. 
He  reminds  one  in  some  respects  of  Lord  Fairfax, 
the  stately  Royalist  of  the  Revolution. 

"But  now  when  tens  of  thousands  of  brave 
souls  have  gone  up  to  God  under  the  shadow  of 
the  flag ;  when  thousands  more,  maimed  and  shat- 
16 


242  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

tered  in  the  contest,  are  sadly  awaiting  the  deliv- 
erance  of  death ;  now,  when  three  years  of  terrific 
warfare  have  raged  over  us ;  when  our  armies 
have  pushed  the  Eebellion  back  over  mountains 
and  rivers,  and  crowded  it  into  narrow  limits,  un 
til  a  wall  of  fire  girds  it ;  now  when  the  uplifted 
hand  of  a  majestic  people  is  about  to  hurl  the 
bolts  of  its  conquering  power  upon  the  Rebellion  ; 
now,  in  the  quiet  of  this  hall,  hatched  in  the  low- 
est  depths  of  a  similar  dark  treason,  there  rises  a 
Benedict  Arnold,  and  proposes  to  surrender  all 
up,  body  and  spirit,  the  nation  and  the  flag,  its 
genius  and  its  honor,  now  and  forever,  to  the  ac 
cursed  traitors  to  our  country  !  And  that  propo 
sition  comes — God  forgive  and  pity  our  beloved 
State — it  comes  from  a  citizen  of  the  time-honored 
and  loyal  commonwealth  of  Ohio  ! 

"  1  implore  you,  brethren  in  this  House,  to  be 
lieve  that  not  many  births  ever  gave  pangs  to  my 
mother  State  such  as  she  suffered  when  that  traitor 
was  born !  I  beg  you  not  to  believe  that  on  the 
soil  of  that  State  another  such  a  growth  has  ever 
deformed  the  face  of  nature,  and  darkened  the 
light  of  God's  day  ! " 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


GARFIELD' s  COURSE  IN  CONGRESS. 


IF  Garfield  at  once  took  a  prominent  place  in 
the  House  of  Representatives,  it  was  by  no  means 
because  it  was  composed  of  inferior,  men.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  has  seldom  been  a  time  when  it 
contained  a  larger  number  of  men  either  promi 
nent,  or  destined  in  after  days  to  be  prominent. 
I  avail  myself  of  the  detailed  account  given  of  iJa 
members  by  Major  Bundy,  in  his  excellent  Life 
of  Garfield.  There  are  some  names  which  will 
be  familiar  to  most  of  my  young  readers  : 

"  Its  then  most  fortunate  and  promising  mem 
ber  was  Schuyler  Colfax,  the  universally  Speaker. 
But  there  were  three  young  members  who  were 
destined  to  a  more  lasting  prominence.  Tiie  se 
nior  of  these  who  had  enjoyed  previous  service  in 
the  House,  was  Iloscoe  Conkling,  already  recog 
nized  by  Congress  and  the  country  as  a  magnifi 
cent  and  convincing  speaker.  The  other  two 

(243) 


244  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

were  James  G.  Elaine  and  James  A.  Garfield. 
Only  a  year  the  senior  of  Garfield,  Elaine  was 
about  to  begin  a  career  as  brilliant  as  that  of 
Henry  Clay,  and  the  acquisition  of  a  popularity 
unique  in  our  political  history.  But  in  this  Con 
gress  there  were  many  members  whose  power 
was  far  greater  than  that  of  either  of  the  trio,  who 
may  yet  be  as  much  compared  as  Clay,  Webster, 
and  Calhoun  were  in  former  days. 

"  In  the  first  place,  there  was  Elihi.  B.  Wash- 
burne,  '  the  watch-dog  of  the  treasury,'  the  '  father 
of  the  House,'  courageous,  practical,  direct,  and 
aggressive.  Then  there  was  Thaddeus  Stevens, 
who  was  one  of  the  very  few  men  capable  of 
driving  his  party  associates  —  a  character  as 
unique  as,  and  far  stronger  than,  John  Randolph  ; 
General  Robert  C.  Schenck,  fresh  from  the  army, 
but  a  veteran  in  Congress,  one  of  the  ablest  of 
practical  statesmen ;  ex-Governor  Eoutwell,  of 
Massachusetts ;  ex-Governor  Fenton,  of  New 
York,  a  very  influential  member,  especially  on 
financial  questions ;  Henry  Winter  Davis,  the 
brilliant  orator,  of  Maryland ;  William  E.  Alli 
son,  since  one  of  the  soundest  and  most  useful  of 
Iowa's  Senators;  Henry  L.  Dawes,  who  fairly 


JAMES  A.   GAEFIELD.  245 

earned  his  promotion  to  the  Senate,  but  who  ac 
complished  so  much  in  the  House  that  his  best 
friends  regret  the  transfer;  John  A.  Bingham, 
one  of  the  most  famous  speakers  of  his  time ; 
James  E.  English,  of  Connecticut,  who  did  val 
iant  and  patriotic  service  as  a  War  Democrat; 
George  II.  Pendleton,  now  Senator  from  Ohio, 
and  a  most  accomplished  statesman,  even  in  his 
early  service  in  the  House ;  Henry  G.  Stebbins, 
who  was  to  make  a  speech  sustaining  Mr.  Chase's 
financial  policy  that  was  unequaled  for  its  salu 
tary  effect  on  public  opinion  ;  Samuel  J.  Randall, 
now  Speaker ;  John  A.  Griswold,  of  New  York ; 
William  "VViudom,  one  of  the  silent  members,  who 
has  grown  steadily  in  power ;  James  F.  Wilson, 
who  was  destined  to  decline  three  successive  offers 
of  Cabinet  positions  by  President  Grant ;  Daniel 
W.  Yoorhies,  of  Indiana,  now  Senator;  John  A. 
Kasson,  of  Iowa,  now  our  Minister  to  Austria; 
Theodore  M.  Pomeroy,  of  New  York,  afterward 
Acting  Speaker  for  a  brief  period;  William  R. 
Morrison,  of  Illinois,  since  a  Democratic  candi 
date  for  the  Presidency  ;  William  S.  Holman  and 
George  W.  Julian,  of  Indiana,  both  able  men  ; 
and  Fernando  Wood — these  were  all  prominent 


246  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

members  of  the  House.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
House  was  a  more  trying  arena  for  a  young  mem 
ber  like  Garfield  than  the  Senate  would  have 
been  ;  for  the  contests  of  the  former — unsubdued 
and  unmitigated  by  '  the  courtesy  of  the  Senate ' 
— were  conducted  by  as  ready  and  able  a  corps  of 
debaters  as  ever  sat  in  that  body." 

This  was  surely  a  formidable  array  of  men,  and 
a  man  of  ordinary  powers  would  have  found  it 
prudent  to  remain  silent  during  the  first  session, 
lest  he  should  be  overwhelmed  by  some  one  of 
the  ready  speakers  and  experienced  legislators 
with  whom  he  was  associated.  But  the  canal- 
boy,  who  had  so  swiftly  risen  from  his  humble 
position  to  the  post  of  college  president  and  ma 
jor-general,  till  at  the  age  of  thirty-two  he  sat  in 
the  national  council  the  youngest  member,  was 
not  daunted.  His  term  of  service  as  State  Sena 
tor  was  now  of  use  to  him,  for  it  had  given  him 
a  knowledge  of  parliamentary  law,  and  the  prac 
tice  in  speaking  which  he  gained  long  ago  in  the 
boys'  debating  societies,  and  extended  in  college, 
rendered  him  easy  and  master  of  himself. 

Indeed  he  could  not  remain  silent,  for  he  rep 
resented  the  "  boys  at  the  front,"  and  whenever  a 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  247 

measure  was  proposed  affecting  their  interests,  he 
was  expected  to  take  part  in  the  debate.  It  was 
11  ot  long  before  the  House  found  that  its  new 
member  was  a  man  of  grace  and  power,  with 
whom  it  was  not  always  safe  to  measure  weapons. 
He  was  inclined  to  be  peaceful,  but  he  was  not 
willing  to  permit  any  one  to  domineer  over  him, 
and  the  same  member  did  not  often  attempt  it  a 
second  time. 

My  young  readers  are  sure  to  admire  pluck, 
and  they  will,  therefore,  read  with  interest  of  one 
such  occasion,  when  Garfield  effectually  quelled 
such  an  attempt.  I  find  it  in  a  chapter  of  remi 
niscences  contributed  to  the  Boston  Journal,  by 
Ben  Perley  Poore,  the  well-known  correspond 
ent: 

"  When  the  Jenckes  Bankrupt  Bill  came  before 
the  House,  Gen.  Garfield  objected  to  it,  because 
in  his  opinion  it  did  not  provide  that  the  estates 
of  rebels  in  arms  should  escape  the  operations  of 
the  law.  He  also  showed  that  money  was  being 
raised  to  secure  the  enactment  of  the  bill,  and 
Mr.  Spalding,  of  the  Cleveland  district,  was 
prompted  by  Mr.  Jenckes  to  '  sit  down  on  him.' 
But  Gen.  Garfield  was  not  to  be  silenced  easily, 


248  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

and  quite  a  scene  ensued.  The  next  day  Garfield 
rose  to  a  personal  explanation,  and  said : 

" i  I  made  no  personal  reference  whatever ;  I 
assailed  no  gentleman  ;  I  called  no  man's  honor 
in  question.  My  colleague  from  the  Cleveland 
district  (Mr.  Spalding)  rose  and  asked  if  I  had 
read  the  bill.  I  answered  him,  I  believe,  in  cour 
teous  language  and  manner,  that  I  had  read  it, 
and  immediately  on  my  statement  to  that  effect 
he  said  in  his  place  in  the  House,  and  it  has  gone 
on  the  record,  that  he  did  not  believe  I  had  read 
it;  in  other  words,  that  he  believed  I  had  lied,  in 
the  presence  of  my  peers  in  this  House.  I  felt, 
under  such  circumstances,  that  it  would  not  be 
becoming  my  self-respect,  or  the  respect  I  owe  to 
the  House,  to  continue  a  colloquy  with  any  gen 
tleman  who  had  thus  impeached  my  veracity, 
and  I  said  so. 

"  *  It  pains  me  very  much  that  a  gentleman  of 
venerable  age,  who  was  in  full  maturity  of  life 
when  I  was  a  child,  and  whom  I  have  respected 
since  my  childhood,  should  have  taken  occasion 
here  in  this  place  to  use  language  so  uncalled  for, 
so  ungenerous,  so  unjust  to  me,  and  disgraceful 
to  himself.  I  have  borne  with  the  ill-nature  and 


JAMES  A.    GABFIELD.  249 

bad  blood  of  that  gentleman,  as  many  others  in 
this  House  have,  out  of  respect  for  his  years  ;  but 
no  importunity  of  age  shall  shield  him,  or  any 
man,  from  my  denunciation,  who  is  so  lacking  in 
the  proprieties  of  this  place  as  to  be  guilty  of 
such  parliamentary  and  personal  indecency  as  the 
House  has  witnessed  on  his  part.  I  had  hoped 
that  before  this  time  he  would  have  acknowledged 
to  me  the  impropriety  and  unjustifiableness  of  his 
conduct  and  apologized  for  the  insult.  But  he 
has  not  seen  fit  to  take  this  course.  I  leave  him 
to  his  own  reflections,  and  his  conduct  to  the 
judgment  of  the  House.' ': 

Those  who  listened  to  these  spirited  rebukes 
saw  that  the  young  member  from  Ohio  would  not 
allow  himself  to  be  snubbed  or  insulted  with  im 
punity,  and  the  few  who  were  accustomed  to  de 
scend  to  such  discourtesy  took  warning  accordingly. 
They  were  satisfied  that  Garfield,  to  quote  a  com 
mon  phrase,  would  give  them  as  good  as  they 
sent,  and  perhaps  a  little  better.  The  boy,  who 
at  sixteen,  when  employed  on  the  tow-path, 
thrashed  the  bully  of  thirty-five  for  insulting  him, 
was  not  likely  in  his  manhood  to  submit  to  the 
insults  of  a  Congressional  bully.  He  was  a  man. 


250  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

to  compel  respect,  and  had  that  resolute  and  per 
sistent  character  which  was  likely  ere  long  to  make 
him  a  leader.  So  Disraeli,  coughed  down  in  his 
first  attempt  to  speak  before  the  English  House  of 
Commons,  accepted  the  situation,  but  recorded 
the  prediction  that  one  day  they  would  hear  him. 
He,  too,  mounted  step  by  step  till  he  reached  the 
highest  position  in  the  English  Government  out 
side  of  royalty.  A  man  who  is  destined  to  be 
great  is  only  strengthened  by  opposition,  and 
rises  in  the  end  victorious  over  circumstances. 

Garfield  soon  made  it  manifiest  that  he  had 
come  to  Washington  to  work.  He  was  not  one 
to  lie  back  and  enjoy  in  idleness  the  personal  con 
sequence  which  his  position  gave  him.  All  his 
life  he  had  been  a  worker,  and  a  hard  worker, 
from  the  time  when  he  cut  one  hundred  cords  of 
wood,  at  twenty-five  cents  a  cord,  all  through  his 
experience  as  a  canal-boy,  a  carpenter,  a  farm 
worker,  a  janitor,  a  school  teacher,  a  student,  and 
a  military  commander,  and  now  that  he  had  taken 
his  place  in  the  grand  council  of  the  nation,  he 
was  not  going  to  begin  a  life  of  self-indulgent 
idleness. 

In  consideration  of  his  military  record  he  was, 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  251 

at  his  entrance  into  Congress,  put  upon  the  Mili 
tary  Committee  ;  but  a  session  or  two  later,  at  his 
own  request,  he  was  assigned  a  place  on  the  Com 
mittee  of  Ways  and  Means.  His  reason  for  this 
request  was,  that  he  might  have  an  opportunity 
of  studying  the  question  of  finance,  which  he  had 
sufficient  foresight  to  perceive  would  one  day  be  a 
great  question,  overshadowing  all  others.  He  in 
stantly  set  himself  to  a  systematic  and  exhaustive 
study  of  this  subject,  and  attained  so  thorough  a 
knowledge  of  it  that  he  was  universally  recognized 
as  a  high  authority — perhaps  the  highest  in  the 
department.  He  made  speech  after  speecli  on  the 
finance  question,  and  was  a  pronounced  advocate 
of  "  Honest  Money,"  setting  his  face  like  a  flint 
against  those  who  advocated  any  measures  calcu 
lated  to  lower  the  national  credit  or  tarnish  the 
national  reputation  for  good  faith. 

"  I  am  aware,"  said  he  one  day  in  debate,  "  that 
financial  measures  are  dull  and  uninviting  in  com 
parison  with  those  heroic  themes  which  have  ab 
sorbed  the  attention  of  Congress  for  the  last  five 
years.  To  turn  from  the  consideration  of  armies 
and  navies,  victories  and  defeats,  to  the  array  of 
figures  which  exhibits  the  debt,  expenditure,  tax- 


252  JAMES  A.    OARFIELD. 

ation,  and  industry  of  the  nation  requires  no  little 
courage  and  self-denial ;  but  to  these  questions 
we  must  come,  and  to  their  solution  Congress  and 
all  thoughtful  citizens  must  give  their  best  efforts 
for  many  years  to  come." 

It  was  not  only  a  wise  but  a  bold  thing  to  do, 
for  among  the  members  of  his  own  party,  in  Ohio, 
financial  heresies  had  crept  in,  and  a  party  plat 
form  was  adopted  in  1867,  looking  to  the  pay 
ment  of  the  bonds  of  the  Government  in  green 
backs.  He  was  advised  to  say  nothing  on  the 
subject  lest  it  should  cost  him  the  nomination  in 
the  election  just  at  hand  ;  but  he  met  the  question 
boldly,  and  declared  that  the  district  could  only 
have  his  services  "  on  the  ground  of  the  honest 
payment  of  this  debt,  and  these  bonds  in  coin, 
according  to  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  contract." 

Nevertheless  he  was  renominated  by  acclama 
tion. 


'  CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE   MAN    FOE   THE    HOUK. 

Ox  the  15th  day  of  April,  1865,  the  country 
was  thrilled  from  end  to  end  by  the  almost  in 
credible  report  that  President  Lincoln  had  been 
assassinated  the  evening  previous  while  witness 
ing  a  performance  at  Ford's  Theatre,  in  Wash 
ington. 

The  war  was  not  yet  over,  but  peace  seemed 
close  at  hand.  All  were  anticipating  its  return 
with  joy.  The  immense  sacrifices  of  loyal  men 
seemed  about  to  be  rewarded  when,  like  a  clap  of 
thunder  in  a  clear  sky,  came  the  terrible  tidings, 
which  were  flashed  at  once  over  the  telegraphic 
wires  to  the  remotest  parts  of  the  country. 

The  people  at  first  were  shocked  and  silent. 
Then  a  mighty  wave  of  wrath  swept  over  the 
country — a  wrath  that  demanded  victims,  and 
seemed  likely  in  the  principal  city  of  the  coun 
try  to  precipitate  scenes  not  unlike  those  wit 
nessed  in  the  "  Reign  of  Terror  "  in  France. 

(253) 


254         BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

The  boys  who  read  this  story  can  not  under 
stand  the  excitement  of  that  day*  It  was  unlike 
the  deep  sorrow  that  came  upon  us  all  on  the 
second  of  July,  for  Lincoln  died  a  martyr,  at  a 
time  when  men's  passions  had  been  stirred  by 
sectional  strife,  and  his  murder  was  felt  to  be  an 
outgrowth  of  the  passions  which  it  engendered ; 
but  Garfield  fell,  slain  by  the  hand  of  a  worthless 
wretch,  acting  upon  his  own  responsibility. 

I  shall  venture,  for  the  information  of  young 
readers,  to  whom  it  may  be  new,  to  quote  the 
graphic  description  of  an  eye-witness,  contributed 
to  General  Brisbin's  interesting  life  of  our  sub 
ject  : 

"  I  shall  never  forget  the  first  time  I  saw  Gen- 
eral  Garfield.  It  was  the  morning  after  President 
Lincoln's  assassination.  The  country  was  excited 

to  its  utmost  tension The  newspaper 

head  lines  of  the  transaction  were  set  up  in  the 
largest  type,  and  the  high  crime  was  on  every 
one's  tongue.  Fear  took  possession  of  men's 
minds  as  to  the  fate  of  the  Government,  for  in  a 
few  hours  the  news  came  on  that  Seward's  throat 
was  cut,  and  that  attempts  had  been  made  on  the 
lives  of  others  of  the  Government  officers.  Post- 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  255 

ers  were  stuck  up  everywhere,  in  great  black  let 
ters,  calling  upon  the  loyal  citizens  of  New  York, 
Brooklyn,  Jersey  City,  and  neighboring  places, 
to  meet  around  the  Wall  Street  Exchange  and 
give  expression  to  their  sentiments. 

"  It  was  a  dark  and  terrible  hour.  What  might 
come  next  no  one  could  tell,  and  men  spoke  with 
bated  breath.  The  wrath  of  the  workingmen 
was  simply  uncontrollable,  and  revolvers  and 
knives  were  in  the  hands  of  thousands  of  Lin 
coln's  friends,  ready,  at  the  first  opportunity,  to 
take  the  law  into  their  own  hands,  and  avenge 
the  death  of  their  martyred  President  upon  any 
and  all  who  dared  to  utter  a  word  against  him. 

"  Eleven  o'clock  A.  M.  was  the  hour  set  for  the 
rendezvous.  Fifty  thousand  people  crowded 
around  the  Exchange  building,  cramming  and  jam 
ming  the  streets,  and  wedged  in  as  tight  as  men 
could  stand  together.  With  a  few  to  wThom  spe 
cial  favor  was  extended,  I  went  over  from  Brook 
lyn  at  nine  A,  M.,  and  even  then,  with  the  utmost 
difficulty,  found  my  way  to  the  reception  room  for 
the  speakers  in  the  front  of  the  Exchange  building, 
and  looking  out  on  the  high  and  massive  balcony, 
whose  front  was  protected  by  a  massive  iron  railing. 


256         BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"  We  sat  in  solemnity  and  silence,  waiting  for 
General  Butler,  who,  it  was  announced,  had  started 
from  Washington,  and  was  either  already  in  the 
city  or  expected  every  moment.  Nearly  a  hun 
dred  generals,  judges,  statesmen,  lawyers,  editors, 
clergymen,  and  others  were  in  that  room  waiting 
for  Butler's  arrival. 

"  We  stepped  out  to  the  balcony  to  watch  the 
fearfully  solemn  and  swaying  mass  of  people. 
Not  a  hurrah  was  heard,  but  for  the  most  part  a 
dead  silence,  or  a  deep,  ominous  muttering  ran 
like  a  rising  wave  up  the  street  toward  Broadway, 
and  again  down  toward  the  river  on  the  right. 
At  length  the  batons  of  the  police  were  seen 
swinging  in  the  air,  far  up  on  the  left,  parting 
the  crowd,  and  pressing  it  back  to  make  way  for 
a  carriage  that  moved  slowly,  and  with  difficult 
jags  through  the  compact  multitude,  and  the  cry 
of  '  Butler  ! '  l  Butler! '  rang  out  with  tremend 
ous  and  thrilling  effect,  and  was  taken  up  by  the 
people. 

"  But  not  a  hurrah  !  Not  one  !  It  was  the  cry 
of  a  great  people  asking  to  know  how  their 
President  died.  The  blood  bounced  in  our  veins, 
and  the  tears  ran  like  streams  down  our  faces. 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  257 

How  it  was  done  I  forget,  but  Butler  was  pulled 
through,  and  pulled  up,  and  entered  the  room 
where  we  had  just  walked  back  to  meet  him.  A 
broad  crape,  a  yard  long,  hung  from  his  left  arm 
—terrible  contrast  with  the  countless  flags  that 
were  waving  the  nation's  victory  in  the  breeze. 
We  first  realized  then  the  sad  news  that  Lincoln 
was  dead.  When  Butler  entered  the  room  we 
shook  hands.  Some  spoke,  some  could  not;  all 
were  in  tears.  The  only  word  Butler  had  for  us 
all,  at  the  first  break  of  the  silence  was,  f  Gentle- 
men,  lie  died  in  the  fullness  of  his  fame  !  '  and  as 
he  spoke  it  his  lips  quivered,  and  the  tears  ran 
fast  down  his  cheeks. 

u  Then,  after  a  few  moments,  came  the  speak 
ing.  And  you  can  imagine  the  effect,  as  the 
crape  fluttered  in  the  wind  while  his  arm  was  up 
lifted.  Dickinson,  of  New  York  State,  was  fairly 
wild.  The  old  man  leaped  over  the  iron  railing 
of  the  balcony  and  stood  on  the  very  edge,  over 
hanging  the  crowd,  gesticulating  in  the  most  ve 
hement  manner,  and  almost  bidding  the  crowd 
'  burn  up  the  rebel,  seed,  root,  and  branch,'  while 
a  bystander  held  on  to  his  coat-tail  to  keep  him 
from  falling  over. 


258  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

"By  this  time  the  wave  of  popular  indignation 
had  swelled  to  its  crest.  Two  men  lay  bleeding 
on  one  of  the  side  streets,  the  one  dead,  the  other 
next  to  dying ;  one  on  the  pavement,  the  other  in 
the  gutter.  They  had  said  a  moment  before  that 
'  Lincoln  ought  to  have  been  shot  long  ago  ! ' 
They  were  not  allowed  to  say  it  again.  Soon  two 
long  pieces  of  scantling  stood  out  above  the  heads 
of  the  crowd,  crossed  at  the  top  like  the  letter  X, 
and  a  looped  halter  pendant  from  the  junction,  a 
dozen  men  following  its  slow  motion  through  the 
masses,  while  '  Vengeance  '  was  the  cry. 

"  On  the  right  suddenly  the  shout  arose,  t  The 
World! '  '  The  World! '  and  a  movement  of  per 
haps  eight  thousand  to  ten  thousand  turning  their 
faces  in  the  direction  of  that  building  began  to 
be  executed. 

"  It  was  a  critical  moment.  What  might  come 
no  one  could  tell,  did  that  crowd  get  in  front  of 
that  office  ;  police  and  military  would  have  availed 
little,  or  been  too  late.  A  telegram  had  just  been 
read  from  Washington, c  Seward  is  dying ! '  Just 
then,  at  that  juncture,  a  man  stepped  forward 
with  a  small  flag  in  his  hand  and  beckoned  to  the 
crowd. 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  259 

u  i  Another  telegram  from  Washington ! ' 

"  And  then,  in  the  awful  stillness  of  the  crisis, 
taking  advantage  of  the  hesitation  of  the  crowd, 
whose  steps  had  been  arrested  a  moment,  a  right 
arm  was  lifted  skyward,  and  a  voice,  clear  and 
steady,  loud  and  distinct,  spoke  out : 

u  '  Fellow-citizens !  Clouds  and  darkness  are 
round  ahout  Him  !  His  pavilion  is  dark  waters, 
and  thick  clouds  of  the  skies !  Justice  and  judg 
ment  are  the  establishment  of  His  throne !  Mercy 
and  truth  shall  go  before  His  face !  Fellow-citi 
zens  !  God  reigns  and  the  Government  at  Wash 
ington  still  lives ! ' 

"  The  effect  was  tremendous.  The  crowd  stood 
rooted  to  the  ground  with  awe,  gazing  at  the 
motionless  orator,  and  thinking  of  God  and  the 
security  of  the  Government  in  that  hour.  As  the 
boiling  waters  subside  and  settle  to  the  sea,  when 
some  strong  wind  beats  it  down,  so  the  tumult  of 
the  people  sank  and  became  still.  All  took  it  as 
a  divine  omen.  It  was  a  triumph  of  eloquence, 
inspired  by  the  moment,  such  as  falls  to  but  one 
man's  lot,  and  that  but  once  in  a  century.  The 
genius  of  Webster,  Choate,  Everett,  Seward, 
never  reached  it.  What  might  have  happened 


2 GO  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

had  the  surging  and  maddened  mob  been  let 
loose,  none  can  tell.  The  man  for  the  crisis  was 
on  the  spot,  more  potent  than  Napoleon's  guns  at 
Paris.  I  inquired  what  was  his  name. 

"  The  answer  came  in  a  low  whisper,  i  It  is 
General  Garfield,  of  Ohio.'  " 

It  was  a  most  dramatic  scene,  and  a  wonderful 
exhibition  of  the  power  of  one  man  of  intellect 
over  a  furious  mob. 

How  would  the  thrilling  intensity  of  the  mo 
ment  have  been  increased,  had  some  prophet, 
standing  beside  the  inspired  speaker,  predicted 
that  a  little  more  than  sixteen  years  later  he  who 
had  calmed  the  crowd  would  himself  fall  a  victim 
to  violence,  while  filling  the  same  high  post  as 
the  martyred  Lincoln.  Well  has  it  been  said  that 
the  wildest  dream  of  the  romancer  pales  beside 
the  solemn  surprise  of  the  Actual.  £Tot  one  among 
the  thousands  there  assembled,  not  the  speaker 
himself,  would  have  considered  such  a  statement 
within  the  range  of  credibility.  Alas,  that  it 
should  have  been  ! — that  the  monstrous  murder  of 
the  good  Lincoln  should  have  been  repeated  in 
these  latter  days,  and  the  nation  have  come  a 
second  time  a  mourner ! 


JAMES  A.    QARFIELD.  2G1 

Will  it  be  believed  that  Garfield's  arrival  and 
his  speech  had  been  quite  accidental,  though  we 
must  also  count  it  as  Providential,  since  it  stayed 
the  wild  excesses  of  an  infuriated  mob.  He  had 
only  arrived  from  Washington  that  morning,  and 
after  breakfast  had  strolled  through  the  crowded 
streets,  in  entire  ignorance  of  the  great  gathering 
at  the  Exchange  building. 

He  turned  down  Broadway,  and  when  he  saw 
the  great  concourse  of  people,  he  kept  on,  to  learn 
what  had  brought  them  together.  Butler  was 
speaking  when  he  arrived,  and  a  friend  who 
recognized  him  beckoned  him  to  come  up  there, 
above  the  heads  of  the  multitude. 

When  he  heard  the  wild  cries  for  "Vengeance  1" 
and  noticed  the  swaying,  impassioned  movements 
of  the  crowd,  he  saw  the  danger  that  menaced  the 
public  order,  and  in  a  moment  of  inspiration  he 
rose,  and  with  a  gesture  challenged  the  attention 
of  the  crowd.  What  he  said  he  could  not  have 
told  five  minutes  afterward.  "  I  only  know,"  he 
said  afterward,  "  that  I  drew  the  lightning  from 
that  crowd,  and  brought  it  back  to  reason." 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

GAKFIELD    AS    A    LAWYER. 

IN  the  crowded  activities  of  Garfield's  life,  my 
readers  may  possibly  have  forgotten  that  he  was 
a  lawyer,  having,  after  a  course  of  private  study 
during  his  presidency  of  Hiram  College,  been  ad 
mitted  to  the  bar,  in  1861,  by  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Ohio.  When  the  war  broke  out  he  was  about 
to  withdraw  from  his  position  as  teacher,  and  go 
into  practice  in  Cleveland ;  but,  as  a  Roman 
writer  has  expressed  it,  "  Inter  arma  silent 
leges."  So  law  gave  way  to  arms,  and  the  in 
cipient  lawyer  became  a  general. 

When  the  soldier  put  off  his  armor  it  was  to 
enter  Congress,  and  instead  of  practicing  law, 
Garfield  helped  to  frame  laws. 

But  in  1865  there  came  an  extraordinary  occa 
sion,  which  led  to  the  Ohio  Congressman  entering 
upon  his  long  delayed  profession.  And  here  I 

quote  from  the  work  of  Major  Bundy,  already 

(202) 


JAMES  A.   OAEFIELD. 


referred  to :  "  About  that  time  that  great  lawyer, 
Judge  Jeremiah  S.  Black,  as  the  attorney  of  the 
Ohio  Democrats  who  had  been  opposing  the  war, 
came  to  his  friend  Garfield,  and  said  that  there 
were  some  men  imprisoned  in  Indiana  for  con 
spiracy  against  the  Government  in  trying  to  pre 
vent  enlistments  and  to  encourage  desertion. 
They  had  been  tried  in  1864,  while  the  war  was 
going  on,  and  by  a  military  commission  sitting  in 
Indiana,  where  there  was  no  war,  they  had  been 
sentenced  to  death.  Mr.  Lincoln  commuted  the 
sentence  to  imprisonment  for  life,  and  they  were 
put  into  State's  prison  in  accordance  with  the 
commutation.  They  then  took  out  a  writ  of 
habeas  corpus,  to  test  the  constitutionality  and 
legality  of  their  trial,  and  the  judges  in  the  Circuit 
Court  had  disagreed,  there  being  two  of  them, 
and  had  certified  their  disagreement  to  the  Su 
preme  Court  of  the  United  States.  Judge  Black 
said  to  Garfield  that  he  had  seen  what  Garh'eld  had 
said  in  Congress,  and  asked  him  if  he  was  willing 
to  say  in  an  argument  in  the  Supreme  Court  what 
he  had  advocated  in  Congress. 

"  To  which  Garfield  replied :  *  It  depends  on 
your  case  altogether.' 


264        BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

"  Judge  Black  sent  him  the  facts  in  the  case — 
the  record. 

"  Garfield  read  it  over,  and  said  :  c  I  believe  in 
that  doctrine.' 

"  To  which  Judge  Black  replied :  l  Young  man, 
you  know  it  is  a  perilous  thing  for  a  young  Re 
publican  in  Congress  to  say  that,  and  I  don't  want 
you  to  injure  yourself.' 

"  Said  Garfield  :  <  It  does  not  make  any  differ 
ence.  I  believe  in  English  liberty,  and  English 
law.  But,  Judge  Black,  I  am  not  a  practitioner 
in  the  Supreme  Court,  and  I  never  tried  a  case  in 
my  life  anywhere.' 

u '  How  long  ago  were  you  admitted  to  the 
bar  ? '  asked  Judge  Black. 

"  '  Just  about  six  years  age.' 

"  <  That  will  do,'  Black  replied,  and  he  took 
Garfield  thereupon  over  to  the  Supreme  Court 
and  moved  his  admission. 

"  He  immediately  entered  upon  the  considera 
tion  of  this  important  case.  On  the  side  of  the 
Government  was  arrayed  a  formidable  amount  of 
legal  talent.  The  Attorney-General  was  aided 
by  Gen.  Butler,  who  was  called  in  on  account  of 
his  military  knowledge,  and  by  Henry  Stanbury. 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  265 

Associated  with  Gen.  Garfield  as  counsel  for  the 
petitioners  were  two  of  the  greatest  lawyers  in 
the  country — Judge  Black  and  Hon.  David 
Dudley  Field,  and  the  Hon.  John  E.  McDonald, 
now  Senator  from  Indiana.  The  argument  sub 
mitted  by  Gen.  Garfield  was  one  of  the  most  re 
markable  ever  made  before  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  and  was  made  under  circum 
stances  peculiarly  creditable  to  Garfield's  courage, 
independence,  and  resolute  devotion  to  the  cause 
of  constitutional  liberty — a  devotion  not  inspired 
by  wild  dreams  of  political  promotion,  for  at  that 
time  it  was  dangerous  for  any  young  Republican 
Congressman  to  defend  the  constitutional  rights 
of  men  known  to  be  disloyal,  and  rightly  despised 
and  hated  for  their  disloyal  practices." 

I  refer  any  of  my  maturer  readers  who  may 
desire  an  abstract  of  the  young  lawyer's  masterly 
and  convincing  argument,  to  Major  Bundy's  val 
uable  work,  which  necessarily  goes  more  deeply 
into  such  matters  than  the  scope  of  my  slighter 
work  will  admit.  His  argument  was  listened  to 
witn  high  approval  by  his  distinguished  associate 
counsel,  and  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court 
was  given  unanimously  in  favor  of  his  clients. 


266  BOYHOOD  AXD  MAXUOOD   OF 

Surely  this  was  a  most  valuable  debut,  and 
Gariield  is  probably  the  first  lawyer  that  ever 
tried  his  first  case  before  that  august  tribunal. 
It  was  a  triumph,  and  gave  him  an  immediate 
reputation  and  insured  him  a  series  of  important 
cases  before  the  same  court.  I  have  seen  it  stated 
that  he  was  employed  in  seventeen  cases  before 
the  Supreme  Court,  some  of  large  importance, 
and  bringing  him  in  large  fees.  But  for  his  first 
case  he  never  received  a  cent.  His  clients  were 
poor  and  in  prison,  and  he  was  even  obliged  to 
pay  for  printing  his  own  brief.  II is  future 
earnings  from  this  source,  however,  added  mate 
rially  to  his  income,  and  enabled  him  to  install 
his  family  in  that  cherished  home  at  Mentor, 
which  has  become  so  familiar  by  name  to  the 
American  people. 

» 

-  I  can  not  dwell  upon  GarfiekPs  experience  as  a 
lawyer.  I  content  myself  with  quoting,  from  a 
letter  addressed  by  Garfield  to  his  close  friend, 
President  Hinsdale,  of  Hiram  College,  the  ac 
count  of  a  case  tried  in  Mobile,  which  illus 
trates  his  wonderful  industry  and  remarkable 
resources. 

Under  date  of  June  13,  1877,  Garfield  writes: 


JAMES  A.    OAR  FIELD.  267 

"You  know  that  my  life  has  abounded  in  crises 
and  difficult  situations.  This  trip  has  been,  per 
haps,  not  a  crisis,  but  certainly  has  placed  me  in 
a  position  of  extreme  difficulty.  Two  or  three 
months  ago,  W.  B.  Duncan,  a  prominent  business 
man  in  New  York,  retained  me  as  his  lawyer  in 
a  suit  to  be  heard  in  the  United  States  Court  in 
Mobile,  and  sent  me  the  papers  in  the  case.  I 
studied  them,  and  found  that  they  involved  an 
important  and  somewhat  difficult  (question  of  law, 
and  I  made  myself  sufficiently  familiar  with  it, 
so  that  when  Duncan  telegraphed  me  to  be  in 
Mobile  on  the  first  Monday  in  June,  I  went  with 
a  pretty  comfortable  sense  of  my  readiness  to 
meet  anybody  who  should  be  employed  on  the 
other  side.  But  when  I  reached  Mobile,  I  found 
there  were  two  other  suits  connected  with  this, 
and  involving  the  ownership,  sale,  and  complicated 
rights  of  several  parties  to  the  Mobile  and  Ohio 
Railroad. 

"After  two  days'  skirmishing,  the  court  or 
dered  the  three  suits  to  be  consolidated.  The 
question  I  had  prepared  myself  on  passed  wholly 
out  of  sight,  and  the  whole  entanglement  of  an 
insolvent  railroad,  twenty-five  years  old,  and 


268  BOYHOOD  AXD  MANHOOD   OF 

lying  across  four  States,  and  costing  $20,000,000, 
came  upon  us  at  once.  There  were  seven  lawyers 
in  the  case  besides  me.  On  one  side  were  John 
A.  Campbell,  of  New  Orleans,  late  member  of 
the  Supreme  Bench  of  the  United  States ;  a  lead 
ing  New  York  and  a  Mobile  lawyer.  Against  us 
were  Judge  Hoadley,  of  Cincinnati,  and  several 
Southern  men.  I  was  assigned  the  duty  of  sum 
ming  up  the  case  for  our  side,  and  answering  the 
final  argument  of  the  opposition.  I  have  never 
felt  myself  in  such  danger  of  failure  before,  all 
had  so  much  better  knowledge  of  the  facts  than 
I,  arid  all  had  more  experience  with  that  class  of 
litigation;  but  I  am  very  sure  no  one  of  them 
did  so  much  hard  work,  in  the  five  nights  and  six 
days  of  the  trial,  as  1  did.  I  am  glad  to  tell  you 
that  I  have  received  a  dispatch  from  Mobile,  that 
the  court  adopted  my  view  of  the  case,  and  gave 
us  a  verdict  on  all  points." 

Who  can  doubt,  after  reading  of  these  two 
cases,  that  had  Garfield  devoted  himself  to  the 
'practice  of  the  law  exclusively,  he  would  have 
made  one  of  the  most  successful  members  of  the 
profession  in  the  country,  perhaps  risen  to  the 
highest  rank  ?  As  it  was,  he  was  only  able  to  de- 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  269 

vote  the  time  lie  could  spare  from  his  legislative 
labors. 

These  increased  as  years  sped.  On  the  retire 
ment  of  James  G.  Elaine  from  the  lower  House 
of  Congress,  the  leadership  of  his  party  devolved 
upon  Garfield.  It  was  a  post  of  honor,  but  it 
imposed  upon  him  a  vast  amount  of  labor.  lie 
must  qualify  himself  to  speak,  not  superficially, 
but  from  adequate  knowledge  upon  ail  points  of 
legislation,  and  to  defend  the  party  with  which 
he  was  allied  from  all  attacks  of  political  oppo 
nents. 

On  this  subject  he  writes,  April  21,  1880: 
"  The  position  T  hold  in  the  House  requires  an 
enormous  amount  of  surplus  work.  I  am  com 
pelled  to  look  ahead  at  questions  likely  to  be 
sprung  upon  us  for  action,  and  the  fact  is,  I  pre 
pare  for  debate  on  ten  subjects  where  I  actually 
take  part  in  but  one.  For  example,  it  seemed 
certain  that  the  Fitz  John  Porter  case  would  be 
discussed  in  the  House,  and  I  devoted  the  best  of 
two  weeks  to  a  careful  '  re-examination '  of  the 
old  material,  and  a  study  of  the  new. 

u  There  is  now  lying  on  top  of  my  book-case  a 
pile  of  books,  revisions,  and  manuscripts,  three 


270  JAMES  A.    OARF1ELD. 

feet  long  by  a  foot  and  a  half  high,  which  I  ac 
cumulated  and  examined  for  debate,  which  cer 
tainly  will  not  come  off  this  session,  perhaps  not 
at  all.  I  must  stand  in  the  breach  to  meet  what 
ever  comes. 

16 1  look  forward  to  the  Senate  as  at  least  a 
temporary  relief  from  this  heavy  work.  I  am 
just  now  in  antagonism  with  my  own  party  on 
legislation  in  reference  to  the  election  law,  and 
here  also  I  have  prepared  for  two  discussions,  and 
as  yet  have  not  spoken  on  either." 

My  young  readers  will  see  that  Garfield  thor 
oughly  believed  in  hard  work,  and  appreciated  its 
necessity.  It  was  the  only  way  in  which  he  could 
hold  his  commanding  position.  If  he  attained 
large  success,  and  reached  the  highest  dignity  in 
the  power  of  his  countrymen  to  bestow,  it  is 
clear  that  he  earned  it  richly.  Upon  some,  acci 
dent  bestows  rank  ;  but  not  so  with  him.  From 
his  earliest  years  he  was  growing,  rounding  out, 
arid  developing,  till  he  became  the  man  he  was. 
And  had  his  life  been  spared  to  the  usual  span,  it 
is  not  likely  that  he  would  have  desisted,  but 
ripened  with  years  into  perhaps  the  most  pro 
found  and  scholarly  statesman  the  world  has  seen 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE    SCHOLAR   IN    POLITICS. 

IN  the  midst  of  his  political  and  professional 
activity,  Garfield  never  forgot  his  days  of  tranquil 
enjoyment  at  Hiram  College,  when  he  was 
devoted  solely  to  the  cultivation  of  his  mind,  and 
the  extension  of  his  knowledge.  He  still  cherished 
the  same  tastes,  and  so  far  as  his  leisure — he  had 
no  leisure,  save  time  snatched  from  the  engrossing 
claims  of  politics — so  far,  at  any  rate,  as  he  could 
manage  the  time,  he  employed  it  for  new  acquisi 
tions,  or  for  the  review  of  his  earlier  studies. 

In  January,  1874,  he  made  a  metrical  version 
of  the  third  ode  of  Horace's  first  book.  I  quote 
four  stanzas : 

"  Guide  thee,  O  ship,  on  thy  journey,  that  owest 
To  Africa's  shores  Virgil  trusted  to  thee. 
I  pray  thee  restore  him,  in  safety  restore  him, 
And  saving  him,  save  me  the  half  of  my  soul. 

*'  Stout  oak  and  brass  triple  surrounded  his  bosom 
Who  first  to  the  waves  of  the  merciless  sea 

(271) 


272  BOYHOOD  AND  MAXHOOD    OF 

Committed  his  frail  bark.     He  feared  not  Africa's 
Fierce  battling  the  gales  of  the  furious  North. 

"  Nor  feared  he  the  gloom  of  the  rain-bearing  Hyads, 
Nor  the  rage  of  fierce  Notus,  a  tyrant  than  whom 
No  storm-god  that  rules  o'er  the  broad  Adriatic 
Is  mightier  its  billows  to  rouse  or  to  calm. 

1 '  What  form,  or  what  pathway  of  death  him  affrighted 
Who  faced  with  dry  eyes  monsters  swimming  the 

deep, 

Who  gazed  without  fear  on  the  storm-swollen  bil 
lows, 

And  the  lightning-scarred  rocks,  grim  with  death 
on  the  shore  ? " 

In  reviewing  the  work  of  the  year  1874,  he 
writes : .  "  So  far  as  individual  work  is  concerned, 
I  have  done  something  to  keep  alive  my  tastes 
and  habits.  For  example,  since  I  left  you  I  have 
made  a  somewhat  thorough  study  of  Goethe  and 
his  epoch,  and  have  sought  to  build  up  in  my 
mind  a  picture  of  the  state  of  literature  and  art 
in  Europe,  at  the  period  when  Goethe  began  to 
work,  and  the  state  when  he  died.  I  have 
grouped  the  various  poets  into  order,  so  as  to  pre 
serve  memoirs  of  the  impression  made  upon  my 
mind  by  the  whole.  The  sketch  covers  nearly 
sixty  pages  of  manuscript.  I  think  some  work  of 


JAMES  A.   GARF1ELD.  273 

this  kind,  outside  the  track  of  one's  every-day 
work,  is  necessary  to  keep  up  real  growth." 

In  July,  1875,  he  gives  a  list  of  works  that  he 
had  read  recently.  Among  these  are  several  plays 
of  Shakespeare,  seven  volumes  of  Fronde's  En 
gland,  and  a  portion  of  Green's  "  History  of  the 
English  People."  He  did  not  limit  himself  to 
English  studies,  but  entered  the  realms  of  French 
and  German  literature,  having  made  himself  ac 
quainted  with  both  these  languages.  He  made 
large  and  constant  use  of  the  Library  of  Congress. 
Probably  none  of  his  political  associates  made  as 
much,  with  the  exception  of  Charles  Sumner. 

Major  Bundy  gives  some  interesting  details  as 
to  his  method  of  work,  which  I  quote :  "In  all 
his  official,  professional,  and  literary  work,  Garfield 
has  pursued  a  system  that  has  enabled  him  to  ac 
cumulate,  on  a  vast  range  and  variety  of  sub 
jects,  an  amount  of  easily  available  information 
such  as  no  one  else  has  shown  the  possession  of 
by  its  use.  His  house  at  Washington  is  a  work 
shop,  in  which  the  tools  are  always  kept  within 
immediate  reach.  Although  books  overrun  his 
house  from  top  to  bottom,  his  library  contains  the 
working  material  on  which  he  mainly  depends. 
18 


274 


BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 


And  the  amount  of  material  is  enormous.  Large 
numbers  of  scrap-books  that  have  been  accumu 
lating  for  over  twenty  years,  in  number  and  in 
value — made  up  with  an  eye  to  what  either  is,  or 
may  become,  useful,  which  would  render  the  col 
lection  of  priceless  value  to  the  library  of  any 
first-class  newspaper  establishment — are  so  per 
fectly  arranged  and  indexed,  that  their  owner, 
with  his  all-retentive  memory,  can  turn  in  a  mo 
ment  to  the  facts  that  may  be  needed  for  almost 
any  conceivable  emergency  in  debate. 

"  These  are  supplemented  by  diaries  that  pre 
serve  Garfield's  multifarous  political,  scientific, 
literary,  and  religious  inquiries,  studies,  and  read 
ings.  And,  to  make  the  machinery  of  rapid  work 
complete,  he  has  a  large  box  containing  sixty- 
three  different  drawers,  each  properly  labeled,  in 
which  he  places  newspaper  cuttings,  documents, 
and  slips  of  paper,  and  from  which  he  can  pull 
out  what  he  wants  as  easily  as  an  organist  can  play 
on  the  stops  of  his  instrument.  In  other  words, 
the  hardest  and  most  masterful  worker  in  Con 
gress  has  had  the  largest  and  most  scientifically 
arranged  of  workshops." 

It  was  a  pleasant  house,  this,  which  Garfield 


JAMES  A.    GARFLELD.  275 

had  made  for  himself  in  Washington.  With  a 
devoted  wife,  who  sympathized  with  him  in  his 
literary  tastes,  and  aided  him  in  his  preparation 
for  his  literary  work,  with  live  children  (two 
boys  now  at  Williams  College,  one  daughter,  and 
two  younger  sons),  all  bright  and  promising,  with 
a  happy  and  joyous  temperament  that  drew  around 
him  warmly-attached  friends,  with  a  mind  contin 
ually  broadening  and  expanding  in  every  direc 
tion,  respected  and  appreciated  by  his  countrymen, 
and  loved  even  by  his  political  opponents,  Gar- 
iield's  lot  seemed  and  was  a  rarely  happy  one. 
He  worked  hard,  but  he  had  always  enjoyed  work. 
Higher  honors  seemed  hovering  in  the  air,  but  he 
did  not  make  himself  anxious  about  them.  He 
enjoyed  life,  and  did  his  duty  as  he  went  along, 
ready  to  undertake  new  responsibilities  whenever 
they  came,  but  by  no  means  impatient  for  higher 
honors. 

Filling  an  honored  place  in  the  household  is 
the  white-haired  mother,  who,  with  justifiable 
pride,  has  followed  the  fortunes  of  her  son  from 
his  destitute  boyhood,  along  the  years  in  which 
he  gained  strength  by  battling  with  poverty  and 
adverse  circumstances,  to  the  time  when  he  fills 


276  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

the  leading  place  in  the  councils  of  the  nation. 
So  steadily  has  he  gone  on,  step  by  step,  that  she 
is  justified  in  hoping  for  him.  higher  honors. 

The  time  came,  and  he  was  elected  to  the 
United  States  Senate  in  place  of  Judge  Thurman, 
who  had  ably  represented  the  State  in  the  same 
body,  and  had  been  long  regarded  as  one  of  the 
foremost  leaders  of  the  Democratic  party.  But  his 
mantle  fell  upon  no  unworthy  successor.  Ohio  was 
fortunate  in  possessing  two  such  men  to  represent 
her  in  the  highest  legislative  body  of  the  nation. 

Doubtless  this  honor  would  have  come  sooner 
to  Garfield,  for  in  1877  he  was  the  candidate  to 
whom  all  eyes  were  directed,  but  he  could  not  be 
spared  from  the  lower  House,  there  being  no  one 
to  take  his  place  as  leader.  He  yielded  to  the 
expressed  wishes  of  President  Hayes,  who,  in  the 
exceptional  position  in  which  he  found  himself, 
felt  the  need  of  a  strong  and  able  man  in  the 
House,  to  sustain  his  administration  and  help 
carry  out  the  policy  of  the  Government.  Accus 
tomed  to  yield  his  own  interest  to  what  he  regarded 
as  the  needs  of  his  country,  Garfield  quietly  ac 
quiesced  in  what  to  most  men  would  have  been  a 
severe  disappointment. 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  277 

But  when,  after  the  delay  of  four  years,  he  was 
elected  to  the  Senate,  he  accepted  with  a  feeling 
of  satisfaction — not  so  much  because  he  was  pro 
moted  as  because,  in  his  new  sphere  of  usefulness, 
lie  would  have  more  time  for  the  gratification  of 
his  literary  tastes. 

In  a  speech  thanking  the  members  of  the 
General  Assembly  for  their  support,  he  said  : 

"  And  now,  gentlemen  of  the  General  As 
sembly,  without  distinction  of  party,  I  recognize 
this  tribute  and  compliment  paid  to  me  to-night. 
"Whatever  my  own  course  may  be  in  the  future, 
a  large  share  of  the  inspiration  of  my  future  pub 
lic  life  will  be  drawn  from  this  occasion  and  from 
these  surroundings,  and  I  shall  feel  anew  the 
sense  of  obligation  that  I  feel  to  the  State  of 
Ohio.  Let  me  venture  to  point  a  single  sentence 
in  regard  to  that  work.  During  the  twenty  years 
that  I  have  been  in  public  life,  almost  eighteen 
of  it  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  I  have 
tried  to  do  one  thing.  Whether  I  was  mistaken 
oim  otherwise,  it  has  been  the  plan  of  my  life  to 
follow  my  conviction  at  whatever  cost  to  myself. 

"  I  have  represented  for  many  years  a  district 
in  Congress  whose  approbation  I  greatly  de- 


278  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

sired ;  but,  though  it  may  seem,  perhaps,  a  little 
egotistical  to  say  it,  I  yet  desired  still  more  the 
approbation  of  one  person,  and  his  name  was 
Garfield.  [Laughter  and  applause].  He  is  the 
only  man  that  I  am  compelled  to  sleep  with,  and 
eat  with,  and  live  with,  and  die  with ;  and,  if  1 
could  not  have  his  approbation,  I  should  have  had 
companionship.  [Renewed  laughter  and  ap 
plause].  And  in  this  larger  constituency  which 
has  called  me  to  represent  them  now,  I  can  only 
do  what  is  true  to  my  best  self,  following  the 
same  rule.  And  if  I  should  be  so  unfortunate  as 
to  lose  the  confidence  of  this  larger  constituency, 
I  must  do  what  every  other  fair-minded  man  has 
to  do — carry  his  political  life  in  his  hand  and  take 
the  consequences.  But  I  must  follow  what  seems 
to  me  to  be  the  only  safe  rule  of  my  life ;  and 
with  that  view  of  the  case,  and  with  that  much 
personal  reference,  I  leave  that  subject." 

This  speech  gives  the  key-note  of  GarfiekFs 
political  action.  More  than  once  he  endangered 
his  re-election  and  hazarded  his  political  future  by 
running  counter  to  what  he  knew  to  be  the  wishes 
of  his  constituents  arid  his  party ;  but  he  would 
never  allow  himself  to  be  a  slave  to  party,  or  wear 


JAMES  A.   QARF1ELD.  279 

the  yoke  of  political  expediency.  He  sought, 
first  of  all,  to  win  the  approval  of  his  own  con 
science  and  his  own  sense  of  right,  and  then  he 
was  willing  to  "  take  the  consequences,"  even  if 
they  were  serious  enough  to  cut  short  the  hrilliant 
career  which  he  so  much  enjoyed. 

I  conceive  that  in  this  respect  he  was  a  model 
whom  I  may  safely  hold  up  for  the  imitation  of 
my  readers,  young  or  old.  Such  men  do  credit 
to  the  country,  and  if  Garfield's  rule  of  life  could 
be  universally  adopted,  the  country  would  never 
be  in  peril.  A  conscientious  man  may  make 
mistakes  of  judgment,  but  he  can  never  go  far 
astray. 


CHAPTEE  XXXI. 

THE   TRIBUTES    OF   FRIENDS. 

BEFORE  going  farther,  in  order  that  my  young 
readers  may  be  better  qualified  to  understand 
what  manner  of  man  Garfield  was,  I  will  quote 
the  remarks  made  by  two  of  his  friends,  one  a 
prominent  member  of  the  party  opposed  to  him 
in  politics.  In  the  Milwaukee  Sentinel  of  Sept. 
22d,  I  find  this  tribute  by  Congressman  Williams, 
of  that  State : 

"  Happening  to  sit  within  one  seat  of  him  for 
four  years  in  the  House,  I,  with  others,  perhaps 
had  a  better  opportunity  to  see  him  in  all  of  his 
moods  than  those  more  removed.  In  action  he 
was  a  giant ;  off  duty  he  was  a  great,  noble  boy. 
He  never  knew  w^hat  austerity  of  manner  or  cere 
monious  dignity  meant.  After  some  of  his  great 
est  efforts  in  the  House,  such  as  will  live  in  his 
tory,  he  would  turn  to  me,  or  any  one  else,  and 

say :    c  Well,  old  boy,  how  was  that  ? '      Every 
(280) 


JAMES  A.    OARFIELD.  281 

man  was  his  confidant  and  friend,  so  far  as  the  inter 
change  of  every-day  good  feeling  was  concerned. 

"  He  once  told  me  how  he  prepared  his  speeches  ; 
that  first  he  filled  himself  with  the  subject,  mass 
ing  all  the  facts  and  principles  involved,  so  far  as 
he  could ;  then  he  took  pen  and  paper  and  wrote 
down  the  salient  points  in  what  he  regarded  their 
logical  order.  Then  he  scanned  them  critically, 
and  fixed  them  in  his  memory.  'And  then,'  said 
he,  '  I  leave  the  paper  in  my  room  .and  trust  to 
the  emergency.'  He  told  me  that  when  he  spoke 
at  the  serenade  in  New  York  a  year  ago,  he  was 
so  pressed  by  callers  that  the  only  opportunity  he 
had  for  preparation  was,  to  lock  the  door  and  walk 
three  times  around  the  table,  when  he  was  called 
out  to  the  balcony  to  begin.  All  the  world  knows 
what  that  speech  was. 

"  He  was  wrapped  up  in  his  family.  His  two 
boys  would  come  up  to  the  House  just  before  ad 
journment,  and  loiter  about  his  desk  with  their 
books  in  their  hands.  After  the  House  adjourn 
ed,  other  members  would  go  off  in  cars  or  car 
riages,  or  walk  down  the  avenue  in  groups.  But 
Garfield,  with  a  boy  on  each  side  of  him,  would 
walk  down  Capitol  Hill,  as  we  would  say  in  the 


282  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

country  '  cross-lots,'  all  three  chatting  together  on 
equal  terms. 

"  He  said  to  me  one  day  during  the  canvass, 
while  the  tears  came  to  his  eyes,  ( I  have  clone  no 
more  in  coming  up  from  poverty  than  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  others,  but  I  am  thankful  that  I 
have  been  able  to  keep  my  family  by  my  side,  and 
educate  my  children.' 

"  He  was  a  man  with  whom  anybody  could  dif 
fer  with  impunity.  I  have  said  repeatedly,  that 
were  Garfield  alive  and  fully  recovered,  and  a 
dozen  of  his  intimate  friends  were  to  go  to  him, 
and  advise  that  Guiteau  be  let  off,  he  would  say, 
'  Yes,  let  him  go.'  The  man  positively  knew  no 
malice.  And  for  such  a  man  to  be  shot  and  tor 
tured  like  a  dog,  and  by  a  dog ! 

"  He  was  extremely  sensitive.  I  have  seen  him. 
come  into  the  House  in  the  morning,  when  some 
guerrilla  of  the  press  had  stabbed  him  deeper  in 
his  feelings  than  Guiteau's  bullet  did  in  the  body, 
and  when  he  looked  pallid  from  suffering,  and  the 
evident  loss  of  sleep ;  but  he  would  utter  no  mur 
mur,  and  in  some  short  time  his  great  exuber 
ance  of  spirits  would  surmount  it  all,  and  he  would 
be  a  boy  again. 


JAMES  A.    OARFIELD.  283 

"  He  never  went  to  lunch  without  a  troop  of 
friends  with  him.  He  loved  to  talk  at  table,  and 
there  is  no  gush  in  saying  he  talked  a  God  social 
ly  and  intellectually.  Some  of  his  off-hand  ex 
pressions  were  like  a  burst  of  inspiration.  Like 
all  truly  great  men,  he  did  riot  seem  to  realize  his 
greatness.  And,  as  I  have  said,  he  would  talk  as 
cordially  and  confidentially  with  a  child  as  with  a 
monarch.  And  I  only  refer  to  his  conversations 
with  me  because  you  ask  me  to,  and  because  I 
think  his  off-hand  conversations  with  any  one  re 
veal  his  real  traits  best. 

"  Coming  on  the  train  from  Washington,  after 
his  nomination,  he  said  :  '  Only  think  of  this !  I 
am  yet  a  young  man  ;  if  elected  and  I  serve  my 
term  I  shall  still  be  a  young  man.  Then  what  am 
I  going  to  do  ?  There  seems  to  be  no  place  in 
America  for  an  ex-President.' 

"And  then  came  in  what  I  thought  the  ex 
treme  simplicity  and  real  nobility  of  the  man. 
1  Why,'  said  he,  '  I  had  no  thought  of  being  nom 
inated.  I  had  bought  me  some  new  books,  and 
was  getting  ready  for  the  Senate.' 

"  I  laughed  at  the  idea  of  his  buying  books,  like 
a  boy  going  to  college,  and  remembered  that  dur- 


284  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

ing  his  Congressional  career  he  had  furnished  ma 
terials  for  a  few  books  himself.  And  then,  with 
that  peculiar  roll  of  the  body  and  slap  on  the 
shoulder  with  the  left  hand,  which  all  \vill  recog 
nize,  he  said  :  '  Why !  do  you  know  that  up  to  1856 
I  never  saw  a  Congressional  Globe,  nor  knew 
what  one  was ! '  And  he  then  explained  how  he 
stumbled  upon  one  in  the  hands  of  an  opponent 
in  his  first  public  an ti -slavery  debate. 

"A  friend  remarked  the  other  day  that  Garfield 
would  get  as  enthusiastic  in  digging  a  six-foot 
ditch  with  his  own  hands,  as  when  making  a 
speech  in  Congress.  Such  was  my  observation. 
Going  dowrn  the  lane,  he  seemed  to  forget  for  the 
time  that  there  was  any  Presidential  canvass 
pending.  He  would  refer,  first  to  one  thing, 
then  another,  with  that  off-hand  originality  which 
was  his  great  characteristic.  Suddenly  picking  up 
a  smooth,  round  pebble,  he  said,  '  Look  at  that ! 
Every  stone  here  sings  of  the  sea.' 

"Asking  why  he  bought  his  farm,  he  said  he 
had  been  reading  about  metals,  how  you  could 
draw  them  to  a  certain  point  a  million  times  and 
not  impair  their  strength,  but  if  you  passed  that 
point  once,  you  could  never  get  them  back.  '  So,' 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  285 

said  lie,  '  I  bought  this  farm  to  rest  the  muscles  of 
inj  mind  ! '  Coming  to  two  small  wooden  struct 
ures  in  the  field,  he  talked  rapidly  of  how  his 
neighbors  guessed  he  would  do  in  Congress,  but 
would  not  make  much  of  a  fist  at  farming,  and 
then  called  my  attention  to  his  corn  and  buck 
wheat  and  other  crops,  and  said  that  was  a  marsh, 
but  he  underdrained  it  with  tile,  and  found  spring- 
water  flowing  out  of  the  bluff,  and  found  he  could 
get  a  five-foot  fall,  and  with  pumps  of  a  given 
dimension,  a  water-dam  could  throw  water  back 
eighty  rods  to  his  house,  and  eighty  feet  above  it. 
c  But,'  said  he,  in  his  jocularly,  impressive  man 
ner,  '  I  did  my  surveying  before  I  did  my  work/  ?: 

This  is  certainly  a  pleasant  picture  of  a  great 
man,  who  has  not  lost  his  simplicity  of  manner, 
and  who  seems  unconscious  of  his  greatness — in 
whom  the  love  of  humanity  is  so  strong  that  he 
reaches  out  a  cordial  hand  to  all  of  his  kind,  no 
matter  how  humble,  and  shows  the  warmest 
interest  in  all. 

Senator  Yoorhees,  of  Indiana,  was  among  the 
speakers  at  the  memorial  meeting  in  Terre  Haute, 
and  in  the  course  of  his  remarks,  said  :  "  I  knew 
James  A.  Garfield  well,  and,  except  on  the  politi- 


286  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

cal  field,  we  had  strong  sympathies  together.  It 
is  nearly  eighteen  years  since  we  lirst  met,  and 
during  that  period  I  had  the  honor  to  serve  seven 
years  in  the  House  of  Representatives  with  him. 

ki  The  kindness  of  his  nature  and  his  mental 
activity  were  his  leading  traits.  In  all  his  inter 
course  with  men,  women,  and  children,  no  kinder 
heart  ever  beat  in  human  breast  than  that  which 
struggled  on  till  10.30  o'clock  Monday  night,  and 
then  forever  stood  still.  There  was  a  light  in 
his  face,  a  chord  in  his  voice,  and  a  pressure  in 
his  hand,  which  were  full  of  love  for  his  fellow- 
beings.  His  manners  were  ardent  and  demonstra 
tive  with  those  to  whom  he  was  attached,  and  he 
filled  the  private  circle  with  sunshine  and  mag 
netic  currents.  He  had  the  joyous  spirits  of  boy 
hood  and  the  robust  intellectuality  of  manhood 
more  perfectly  combined  than  any  other  I  ever 
knew.  Such  a  character  was  necessarily  almost 
irresistible  with  those  who  knew  him  personally, 
and  it  accounts  for  that  undying  hold  which, 
under  all  circumstances,  bound  his  immediate 
constituents  to  him  as  with  hooks  of  steel.  Such 
a  nature,  however,  always  has  its  dangers  as  well 
as  its  strength  and  its  blessings.  The  kind  heart 


JAMES  A.    QABFIELD.  287 

and  the  open  hand  never  accompany  a  suspicious, 
distrustful  mind.  Designing  men  mark  such  a 
character  for  their  own  selfishness,  and  Gen.  Gar- 
field's  faults — for  he  had  faults,  as  he  was  human 
— sprang  more  from  this  circumstance  than  from 
all  others  combined.  He  was  prompt  and  eager 
to  respond  to  the  wishes  of  those  he  esteemed  his 
friends,  whether  inside  or  outside  of  his  own  po 
litical  party.  That  he  made  some  mistakes  in  his 
long,  busy  career  is  but  repeating  the  history  of 
every  generous  and  obliging  man  who  has  lived 
and  died  in  public  life.  They  are  not  such,  how 
ever,  as  are  recorded  in  heaven,  nor  will  they 
mar  or  weaken  the  love  of  his  countrymen. 

"  The  poor,  laboring  boy,  the  self-made  man, 
the  hopeful,  buoyant  soul  in  the  face  of  all  diffi 
culties  and  odds,  constitute  an  example  for  the 
American  youth  which  will  never  be  lost  nor 
grow  dim. 

"  The  estimate  to  be  placed  on  the  intellectual 
abilities  of  Gen.  Garfield  must  be  a  very  high 
one.  Nature  was  bountiful  to  him,  and  his 
acquirements  were  extensive  and  solid.  If  I 
might  make  a  comparison,  I  would  say  that,  with 
the  exception  of  Jefferson  and  John  Quincy 


288  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

Adams,  he  was  the  most  learned  President  in 
what  is  written  in  books  in  the  whole  range  of 
American  history. 

"  The  Christian  character  of  Gen.  Garfield  can 
not,  with  propriety,  be  omitted  in  a  glance,  how 
ever  brief,  at  his  remarkable  career.  Those  who 
knew  him  best  in  the  midst  of  his  ambition  and 
his  worldly  hopes  will  not  fail  now  at  his  tomb  to 
bear  their  testimony  to  his  faith  in  God  and  his 
love  for  the  teachings  of  the  blessed  Nazarene. 

"  It  seems  but  yesterday  that  I  saw  him  last, 
and  parted  from  him  in  all  the  glory  of  his  physi 
cal  and  mental  manhood.  His  eye  was  full  of 
light,  his  tread  elastic  and  strong,  and  the  world 
lay  bright  before  him.  He  talked  freely  of  public 
men  and  public  affairs.  His  resentments  were 
like  sparks  from  the  flint.  He  cherished  them 
not  for  a  moment.  Speaking  of  one  who,  he 
thought,  had  wronged  him,  he  said  to  me,  that, 
sooner  or  later,  he  intended  to  pour  coals  of  fire 
on  his  head  by  acts  of  kindness  to  some  of  his 
kindred.  He  did  not  live  to  do  so,  but  the  pur 
pose  of  his  heart  has  been  placed  to  his  credit  in 
the  book  of  eternal  life." 

A  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  289 

suggests  that  the  following  lines,  from  Pollok's 
"  Course  of  Time,"  apply  with  remarkable  fitness 
to  his  glorious  caresr : 

"Illustrious,  too,  that  morning  stood  the  man 
Exalted  by  the  people  to  the  throne 
Of  government,  established  on  the  base 
Of  justice,  liberty,  and  equal  right  ; 
Who,  in  his  countenance  sublime,  expressed 
A  nation's  majesty,  and  yet  was  meek 
And  humble  ;  and  in  royal  palace  gave 
Example  to  the  meanest,  of  the  fear 
Of  God,  and  all  integrity  of  life 
And  manners  ;  who,  august,  yet  lowly  ;  who 
Severe,  yet  gracious  ;  in  his  very  heart 
Detesting  all  oppression,  all  intent 
Of  private  aggrandizement  ;  and  the  first 
In  every  public  duty — held  the  scales 
Of  justice,  and  as  law,  which  reigned  in  him, 
Commanded,  gave  rewards  ;  or  with  the  edge 
Vindictive  smote — now  light,  now  heavily, 
According  to  the  stature  of  the  crime. 
Conspicuous,  like  an  oak  of  healthiest  bough, 
Deep-rooted  in  his  country's  love,  he  stood." 

19 


CHAPTER    XXXTI. 

FROM    CANAL-BOY   TO    PRESIDENT. 

JAMES  A.  GARFIELD  had  been  elected  to  the 
United  States  Senate,  but  he  was  never  a  member 
of  that  body.  Before  the  time  came  for  him  to 
take  his  seat  he  had  been  invested  with  a  higher 

O 

dignity.  Never  before  in  our  history  has  the 
same  man  been  an  actual  member  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  a  Senator-elect,  and  President 
elect. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  1880,  the  Republican  Con 
vention  at  Chicago  selected  Garfield  as  their 
standard-bearer  on  the  thirty-sixth  ballot.  No 
one,  probably,  was  more  surprised  or  bewildered 
than  Garfield  himself,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
Convention,  when  State  after  State  declared  in 
his  favor.  In  his  loyalty  to  John  Sherman,  of  his 
own  State,  whom  he  had  set  in  nomination  in  an 
eloquent  speech,  he  tried  to  avert  the  result,  but 

in  vain.    He  was  known  by  the  friends  of  other 

(290) 


JIMES  A.    OAK  FIELD.  291 

candidates  to  be  thoroughly  equipped  for  the 
highest  office  in  the  people's  gift,  and  he  was  the 
second  choice  of  the  majority. 

Mary  Clemmer,  the  brilliant  Washington  corre 
spondent,  writes  of  the  scene  thus :  u  For  days 
before,  many  that  would  not  confess  it  felt  that 
he  was  the  coming  man,  because  of  the  acclaim 
of  the  people  whenever  Gartield  appeared.  The 
culminating  moment  came.  Other  names  seemed 
to  sail  out  of  sight  like  thistledown  on  the  wind, 
till  one  (how  glowing  and  living  it  was)  was 
caught  by  the  galleries,  and  shout  on  shout  arose 
with  the  accumulative  force  of  ascending  breakers, 
till  the  vast  amphitheater  was  deluged  with  sound 
ing  and  resounding  acclaim,  such  as  a  man  could 
hope  would  envelope  and  uplift  his  name  but  once 
in  a  life-time.  And  he  ?  There  he  stood,  strong, 
Saxon,  fair,  debonair,  yet  white  as  new  snow,  and 
trembling  like  an  aspen.  It  seemed  too  much, 
this  sudden  storm  of  applause  and  enthusiasm  for 
him,  the  new  idol,  the  coming  President ;  yet 
who  may  say  that  through  his  exultant,  yet  trem 
bling  heart,  that  moment  shot  the  presaging  pang 
of  distant,  yet  sure-coming  woe  ? " 

Senator  Hoar,  of  Massachusetts,  who  was  the 


292  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

President  of  the  Convention,  in  a  speech  made 
not  long  afterward,  paid  the  following  just  tribute 
to  Garfi  eld's  character  and  qualifications  : 

"  Think  of  the  qualifications  for  the  office  which 
that  man  combines.  Do  you  want  a  statesman  in 
the  broadest  sense  ?  Do  you  demand  a  successful 
soldier?  Do  you  want  a  man  of  more  experience 
in  civil  affairs?  No  President  of  the  United 
States  since  John  Quincy  Adams  has  begun  to 
bring  to  the  Presidential  office,  when  he  entered, 
anything  like  the  experience  in  statesmanship  of 
Gen.  Garfield.  As  you  look  over  the  list.  Grant, 
Jackson,  and  Taylor  have  brought  to  the  position 
great  fame  as  soldiers,  but  who  since  John  Quincy 
Adams  has  had  such  a  civil  career  to  look  back 
upon  as  Gen.  Garfield?  Since  1864  I  can  not 
think  of  one  important  question  debated  in  Con 
gress  or  dfscussed  before  the  great  tribunal  of 
the  American  people  in  which  you  can  not 
find  the  issue  stated  more  clearly  and  better  than 
by  any  one  else  in  the  speeches  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  or  on  the  hustings  of  Gen.  Gar- 
field — firm  and  resolute,  constant  in  his  adherence 
to  what  he  thinks  is  right,  regardless  of  popular 
delusions  or  the  fear  that  he  will  become  less  pop 
ular,  or  be  disappointed  in  his  ambitions. 


JAMES  A.    OARFIELD.  293 

"  Just  remember  when  Republicans  and 
Democrats  alike  of  Ohio  fairly  went  crazy  over 
the  financial  heresy,  this  man  stood  as  with  his 
feet  on  a  rock,  demanding  honesty  in  govern 
ment.  About  six  years  ago  I  sat  by  the  side  of 
an  Ohio  Representative,  who  had  an  elaborately 
prepared  table,  showing  how  the  West  was  being 
cheated ;  that  Ohio  had  not  as  many  bank  bills 
to  the  square  mile  as  the  East,  and  that  the  South 
west  was  even  worse  off  than  Ohio. 

"In  regard  to  the  great  questions  of  human 
rights  he  has  stood  inflexible.  The  successor  of 
Joshua  R.  Giddings,  he  is  the  man  on  whom  his 
mantle  may  be  said  to  have  descended.  Still  he 
is  no  blind  partisan.  The  best  arguments  in  favor 
of  civil  service  reform  are  found  in  the  speeches 
of  Gen.  Garh'eld.  He  is  liberal  and  generous  in 
the  treatment  of  the  South,  one  of  the  foremost 
advocates  of  educational  institutions  in  the  South 
at  the  national  expense.  Do  you  wish  for  that 
highest  type — the  volunteer  citizen  soldier?  Here 
is  a  man  who  enlisted  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war ;  from  a  subordinate  officer  he  became  a 
major-general,  trusted  by  those  best  of  com 
manders,  Thomas  and  Rosecranz,  always  in  the 


294  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

thickest  of  the  fight,  the  commander  of  dangerous 
and  always  successful  expeditions,  and  returning 
home  crowned  with  the  laurels  of  victory.  Do 
you  wish  for  an  honored  career,  which  in  itself  is 
a  vindication  of  the  system  of  the  American  Re 
public?  Without  the  attributes  of  rank  or 
wealth,  he  has  risen  from  the  humblest  to  the 
loftiest  position." 

When  the  nominee  of  the  convention  had  leis 
ure  to  reflect  upon  his  new  position,  and  then 
cast  his  eye  back  along  his  past  life,  beginning 
with  his  rustic  home  in  the  Ohio  wilderness,  and 
traced  step  by  step  his  progress  from  canal-boy  to 
Presidential  candidate,  it  must  have  seemed  to 
him  almost  a  dream.  It  was  indeed  a  wonderful 
illustration  of  what  we  claim  for  our  Republican 
institutions,  the  absolute  right  of  the  poorest  and 
humblest,  provided  he  has  the  requisite  talent  and 
industry  to  aspire  to  the  chief  place  and  the  su 
preme  power.  "  It  was  the  most  perfect  instance 
of  the  resistless  strength  of  a  man  developed  by 
all  the  best  and  purest  impulses,  forces,  and  influ 
ences  of  American  institutions  into  becoming  their 
most  thorough  and  ablest  embodiment  in  organic 
and  personal  activity,  aspiration,  and  character." 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  295 

The  response  to  the  nomination  throughout 
the  country  was  most  hearty.  It  was  felt  that 
the  poor  Ohio  canal-boy  had  fitted  himself,  after 
an  arduous  struggle  with  poverty,  for  the  high 
post  to  which  he  was  likely  to  be  called.  The 
N.  Y.  Tribune ',  whose  first  choice  had  been  the 
brilliant  son  of  Maine,  James  G.  Elaine,  welcomed 
the  result  of  the  convention  thus : 

il  From  one  end  of  the  nation  to  the  other,  from 
distant  Oregon  to  Texas,  from  Maine  to  Arizona, 
lightning  has  informed  the  country  of  the  nomi 
nation  yesterday  of  James  A.  Garfield,  as  the  Re 
publican  candidate  for  the  Presidency. 

"  Xever  was  a  nomination  made  which  has 
been  received  by  friend  and  foe  with  such  evi 
dence  of  hearty  respect,  admiration,  and  confi 
dence.  The  applause  is  universal.  Even  the 
Democratic  House  of  Representatives  suspended 
its  business  that  it  might  congratulate  the  country 
upon  the  nomination  of  the  distinguished  leader 
of  the  Republicans. 

a  James  Abram  Garfield  is,  in  the  popular 
mind,  one  of  the  foremost  statesmen  of  the  na 
tion.  He  is  comparatively  a  young  man,  but  in 
his  service  he  commands  the  confidence  and  ad- 


296  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD    OF 

miration  of  his  countrymen  of  all  parties.  His 
ability,  his  thorough  study,  and  his  long  practical 
experience  in  political  matters  gives  an  assurance 
to  the  country  that  he  will  carry  to  the  Presiden 
tial  office  a  mind  superior,  because  of  its  natural 
qualifications  and  training,  to  any  that  has  pre 
ceded  him  for  many  years.  He  will  be  a  Presi 
dent  worthy  in  every  sense  to  fill  the  office  in  a 
way  that  the  country  will  like  to  see  it  filled — 
with  ability,  learning,  experience,  and  integrity. 
That  Gen.  Garfield  will  be  elected  we  have  no 
question.  He  is  a  candidate  worthy  of  election, 
and  will  command  not  only  every  Republican 
vote  in  the  country,  but  the  support  of  tens  of 
thousands  of  non-partisans  who  want  to  see  a 
President  combining  intellectual  ability  with 
learning,  experience,  and  ripe  statesmanship." 

The  prediction  recorded  above  was  fulfilled. 
On  the  second  of  November,  1880,  James  A. 
Garfield  was  elected  President  of  the  United 
States. 

Had  this  been  a  story  of  the  imagination,  such 
as  I  have  often  written,  I  should  not  have  dared 
to  crown  it  with  such  an  ending.  In  view  of  my 


JAMES  A.    0 An FIELD.  297 

hero's  humble  beginnings,  I  should  expect  to  have 
it  severely  criticised  as  utterly  incredible,  but  re 
ality  is  oftentimes  stranger  than  romance,  and 
this  is  notably  illustrated  in  Garfield's  wonderful 
career. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

THE   NEW   ADMINISTRATION. 

ON  the  evening  of  March  3d,  preceding  the  in 
auguration,  the  President-elect  met  twenty  of  his 
college  classmates  at  supper  at  Wormley's  Hotel, 
in  Washington,  and  mutual  congratulations  were 
exchanged.  He  was  the  first  President  of  the 
United  States  selected  from  among  the  graduates 
of  Williams  College,  and  all  the  alumni,  but  more 
especially  the  class  of  1856,  were  full  of  pride  and 
rejoicing.  From  none  probably  were  congratula 
tions  more  welcome  to  the  new  President  than 
from  his  old  academic  associates.  If  I  transcribe 
the  speech  which  Gen.  Garfield  made  upon  that 
occasion  it  is  because  it  throws  a  light  upon  his 
character  and  interprets  the  feelings  with  which 
he  entered  upon  the  high  office  to  which  his 
countrymen  had  called  him  : 

"  CLASSMATES  :  To  me  there  is  something  ex 
ceedingly  pathetic  in  this  reunion.  In  every  eye 
(298) 


JAMES  A.    UARFIELD.  299 

before  me  I  see  the  light  of  friendship  and  love, 
and  I  am  sure  it  is  reflected  back  to  each  one  of 
you  from  my  inmost  heart.  For  twenty-two 
years,  with  the  exception  of  the  last  few  days,  I 
have  been  in  the  public  service.  To-night  I  am 
a  private  citizen.  To-morrow  I  shall  be  called  to 
assume  new  responsibilities,  and  on  the  day  after, 
the  broadside  of  the  world's  wrath  will  strike. 
It  will  strike  hard.  I  know  it,  and  you  will  know 
it.  Whatever  may  happen  to  me  in  the  future,  I 
shall  feel  that  I  can  always  fall  back  upon  the 
shoulders  and  hearts  of  the  class  of  '56  for  their 
approval  of  that  which  is  right,  and  for  their 
charitable  judgment  wherein  I  may  come  short 
in  the  discharge  of  my  public  duties.  You  may 
write  down  in  your  books  now  the  largest  per 
centage  of  blunders  which  you  think  I  will  be 
likely  to  make,  and  you  will  be  sure  to  find  in 
the  end  that  I  have  made  more  than  you  have 
calculated — many  more. 

"  This  honor  comes  to  me  unsought.  I  have 
never  had  the  Presidential  fever — not  even  for  a 
day  ;  nor  have  I  it  to-night.  I  have  no  feeling 
of  elation  in  view  of  the  position  I  am  called  upon 
to  fill.  I  would  thank  God  were  I  to-dav  a  free- 


300  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

lance  in  the  House  or  the  Senate.  But  it  is  not 
to  be,  and  I  will  go  forward  to  meet  the  re 
sponsibilities  and  discharge  the  duties  that  are 
before  me  with  all  the  firmness  and  ability  I  can 
command.  I  hope  you  will  be  able  con 
scientiously  to  approve  my  conduct ;  and  when  I 
return  to  private  life,  I  wish  you  to  give  me 
another  class-meeting." 

This  brief  address  exhibits  the  modesty  with 
which  Gen.  Garfield  viewed  his  own  qualifications 
for  the  high  office  for  which  twenty  years  of  pub 
lic  life  had  been  gradually  preparing  him.  While 
all  are  liable  to  mistakes,  it  is  hardly  to  be  sup 
posed  that  a  man  so  prepared,  and  inspired  by  a 
conscientious  devotion  to  what  he  deemed  to  be 
right,  would  have  made  many  serious  blunders. 
During  his  brief  administration  he  made,  as  the 
country  knowrs,  an  admirable  beginning  in  re 
forming  abuses  and  exacting  the  most  rigid  econ 
omy  in  the  public  service.  There  was  every 
probability  of  his  being  his  own  successor  had  his 
life  been  spared. 

The  inaugural  ceremonies  were  very  imposing. 
Washington  was  thronged  as  it  had  never  been 
before  on  any  similar  occasion.  Private  citizens, 


JAMES  A.    QARFIELD.  301 

civic  bodies,  and  military  companies  were  present 
from  every  part  of  the  country.  Prominent 
among  the  eminent  citizens  present  was  the 
stately  and  imposing  figure  of  Gen.  Hancock, 
who  had  been  the  nominee  of  the  opposing  party, 
and  who,  with  admirable  good  feeling  and  good 
taste,  had  accepted  an  invitation  to  be  present  at 
the  inauguration  of  his  successful  rival. 

And  there  were  others  present  whom  we  have 
met  before.  The  wife  and  mother  of  the  new 
President,  with  flushed  cheeks  and  proud  hearts, 
witnessed  the  ceremonies  that  made  the  one  they 
loved  the  head  of  the  State.  To  him  they  were 
more  than  all  the  rest.  When  he  had  taken  the 
oath  of  office  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled 
tens  of  thousands,  Garfield  turned  to  his  aged 
mother  and  imprinted  a  kiss  upon  her  cheek, 
and  afterward  upon  that  of  his  wife.  It  was  a 
touch  of  nature  that  appealed  to  the  hearts  of  all 
present. 

In  the  White  House,  one  of  the  best  rooms  was 
reserved  for  his  aged  mother,  for  whom  he  cher 
ished  the  same  fond  love  and  reverence  as  in  his 
boyish  days.  It  was  a  change,  and  a  great  one, 
from  the  humble  log-cabin  in  which  our  story 


302  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

opens ;  it  was  a  change,  too,  from  the  backwoods 
boy,  in  his  suit  of  homespun,  to  the  statesman  of 
noble  and  commanding  figure,  upon  whom  the 
eves  of  the  nation  were  turned.  The  boy  who 
had  guided  the  canal-boat  was  now  at  the  helm  of 
the  national  vessel,  and  there  was  no  fear  that  he 
would  run  her  aground.  Even  had  storms  come, 
we  might  safely  trust  in  him  who  had  steered  the 
little  steamboat  up  the  Big  Sandy  River,  in  dark 
ness  and  storm  and  floating  obstructions,  to  the 
camp  where  his  famished  soldiers  were  waiting 
for  supplies.  For,  as  is  the  case  with  every  great 
man,  it  was  difficulty  and  danger  that  nerved  Gar- 
field  to  heroic  efforts,  and  no  emergency  found 
him  lacking. 

His  life  must  now  be  changed,  and  the  change 
was  not  altogether  agreeable.  With  his  cordial 
off-hand  manners,  and  Western  freedom,  he,  no 
doubt,  felt  cramped  and  hampered  by  the  re 
quirements  of  his  new  position.  When  he  ex 
pressed  his  preference  for  the  position  of  a  free 
lance  in  the  House  or  Senate,  he  was  sincere. 
It  was  more  in  accordance  with  his  private  tastes. 
But  a  public  man  can  not  always  choose  the  place 
or  the  manner  in  which  he  will  serve  his  country. 


JAMES  A.    OARFIELD.  303 

Often  she  says  to  him,  "  Go  up  higher ! "  when 
he  is  content  with  an  humble  place,  and  more 
frequently,  perhaps,  he  has  to  be  satisfied  with 
an  humble  place  when  he  considers  himself  fitted 
for  a  higher. 

So  far  as  he  could,  Gen.  Gartield  tried  to  pre 
serve  in  the  Executive  Mansion  the  domestic  life 
which  he  so  highly  prized.  He  had  his  children 
around  him.  He  made  wise  arrangements  for 
their  continued  education,  for  he  felt  that  what 
ever  other  legacy  he  might  be  able  to  leave  them, 
this  would  be  the  most  valuable.  Still,  as  of  old, 
he  could  count  on  the  assistance  of  his  wife  in 
fulfilling  the  duties,  social  and  otherwise,  required 
by  his  exalted  position. 

Norwas  he  less  fortunate  in  his  political  family. 
He  haa  selected  as  his  Premier  a  friend  and  po 
litical  associate  of  many  years'  standing,  whose 
brilliant  talent  and  wide-spread  reputation  brought 
strength  to  his  administration.  In  accepting  the 
tender  of  the  post  of  Secretary  of  State,  Mr. 
Blaine  said  :  "  In  our  new  relation  I  shall  give 
all  that  I  am,  and  all  that  I  can  hope  to  be,  freely 
and  joyfully  to  your  service.  You  need  no  pledge 
of  my  loyalty  in  heart  and  in  act.  I  should  be 


304  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD    OF 

false  to  myself  did  I  not  prove  true  both  to  the 
great  trust  you  confide  to  me,  and  to  your  own 
personal  and  political  fortunes  in  the  present  and 
in  the  future.  Your  administration  must  be  made 
brilliantly  successful,  and  strong  in  the  confidence 
and  pride  of  the  people,  not  at  all  directing  its 
energies  for  re-election,  and  yet  compelling  that 
result  by  the  logic  of  events  and  by  the  imperious 
necessities  of  the  situation. 

"  I  accept  it  as  one  of  the  happiest  circumstan 
ces  connected  with  this  affair,  that  in  allying  my 
political  fortunes  with  yours — or  rather,  for  the 
time  merging  mine  in  yours — my  heart  goes 
with  my  head,  and  that  I  carry  to  you  not  only 
political  support,  but  personal  and  devoted  friend 
ship.  I  can  but  regard  it  as  somewhat  remarkable 
that  two  men  of  the  same  age,  entering  Congress 
at  the  same  time,  influenced  by  the  same  aims, 
and  cherishing  the  same  ambitions,  should  never, 
for  a  single  moment,  in  eighteen  years  of  close 
intimacy,  have  had  a  misunderstanding  or  a  cool 
ness,  and  that  our  friendship  has  steadily  grown 
with  our  growth,  and  strengthened  with  our 
strength. 

"  It  is  this  fact  which  has  led  me  to  the  conclu- 


JAMES  A.    aARFlELD.  305 

sion  embodied  in  this  letter ;  for,  however  much, 
my  dear  Garfield,  I  might  admire  you  as  a  states 
man,  I  would  not  enter  your  Cabinet  if  I  did  not 
believe  in  you  as  a  man  and  love  you  as  a  friend." 

When  it  is  remembered  that  Mr.  Blaine  before 
the  meeting  of  the  convention  was  looked  upon 
as  the  probable  recipient  of  the  honor  that  fell  to 
Garfield,  the  generous  warmth  of  this  letter  will 
be  accounted  most  creditable  to  both  of  the  two 
friends,  whose  strong  friendship  rivalry  could  not 
weaken  or  diminish. 

So  the  new  Administration  entered  upon  what 
promised  to  be  a  successful  course.  I  can  not 
help  recording,  as  a  singular  circumstance,  that 
the  three  highest  officers  were  ex-teachers.  Of 
Garfield's  extended  services  as  teacher,  beginning 
with  the  charge  of  a  district  school  in  the  wilder 
ness,  and  ending  with  the  presidency  of  a  college, 
we  already  know.  Reference  has  also  been  made 
to  the  early  experience  of  the  Vice-President, 
Chester  A.  Arthur,  in  managing  a  country  school. 
To  this  it  may  be  added  that  Mr.  Blaine,  too, 
early  in  life,  was  a  teacher  in  an  academy,  and,  as 
may  readily  be  supposed,  a  successful  one.  It  is 
seldom  in  other  countries  that  similar  honors 

20 


306  JAMES  A.    GAR  FIELD. 

crown  educational  workers.  It  may  be  men 
tioned,  however,  that  Louis  Philippe,  afterward 
King  of  the  French,  while  an  exile  in  this  coun 
try,  gave  instruction  in  his  native  language.  It 
is  not,  however,  every  ruler  of  boys  that  is  quali 
fied  to  become  a  ruler  of  men.  Yet,  in  our  own 
country,  probably  a  majority  of  our  public  men 
have  served  in  this  capacity. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV.  . 

THE    TRAGIC    END.  / 

I  SHOULD  like  to  end  my  story  here,  and  feel 
that  it  was  complete.  I  should  like  with  my 
countrymen  to  be  still  looking  forward  with  in 
terest  to  the  successful  results  of  an  administra 
tion,  guided  by  the  experienced  statesman  whose 
career  we  have  followed  step  by  step  from  its 
humble  beginnings.  But  it  can  not  be. 

On  the  second  of  July,  in  the  present  year,  a 
startling  rumor  was  borne  on  the  wings  of  the 
lightning  to  the  remotest  parts  of  the  land  : 

"  President  Gartield  has  been  assassinated  !  " 

The  excitement  was  only  paralleled  by  that 
which  prevailed  in  1865,  when  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  treacherously  killed  by  an  assassin.  But  in 
this  later  case  the  astonishment  was  greater,  and 
all  men  asked,  ""What  can  it  mean?  " 

We  were  in  a  state  of  profound  peace.     No 

wars  nor  rumors  of  war  disturbed  the  humble 

(307) 


308  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

mind,  and  the  blow  was  utterly  unexpected  and 
inexplicable. 

The  explanation  came  soon  enough.  It  was 
the  work  of  a  wretched  political  adventurer,  who, 
inflated  by  an  overweening  estimate  of  his  own 
abilities  and  importance,  had  made  a  preposter 
ous  claim  to  two  high  political  offices — the  post 
of  Minister  to  Austria,  and  Consul  to  Paris — and 
receiving  no  encouragement  in  either  direction, 
had  deliberately  made  up  his  mind  to  "  remove  " 
the  President,  as  he  termed  it,  in  the  foolish  hope 
that  his  chances  of  gaining  office  would  be  better 
under  another  administration. 

My  youngest  readers  will  remember  the  sad 
excitement  of  that  eventful  day.  They  will  re 
member,  also,  how  the  public  hopes  strengthened 
or  weakened  with  the  varying  bulletins  of  each 
day  during  the  protracted  sickness  of  the  nation's 
head.  They  will  not  need  to  be  reminded  how 
intense  was  the  anxiety  everywhere  manifested, 
without  regard  to  party  or  section,  for  the  recov 
ery  of  the  suffering  ruler.  And  they  will  surely 
remember  the  imposing  demonstrations  of  sor 
row  when  the  end  was  announced.  Some  of  the 
warmest  expressions  of  grief  came  from  the 


JAMES  A.   QARF1ELD.  309 

South,  who  in  this  time  of  national  calamity  were 
at  one  with  their  brothers  of  the  North.  And 
when,  on  the  26th  of  September,  the  last  funeral 
rights  were  celebrated,  and  the  body  of  the  dead 
President  was  consigned  to  its  last  resting-place 
in  the  beautiful  Lake  Yiew  Cemetery,  in  sight  of 
the  beautiful  lake  on  which  his  eyes  rested  as  a 
boy,  never  before  had  there  been  such  imposing 
demonstrations  of  grief  in  our  cities  and  towns. 

These  were  not  conh'ned  to  public  buildings, 
and  to  the  houses  and  warehouses  of  the  rich,  but 
the  poorest  families  displayed  their  bit  of  crape. 
Outside  of  a  miserable  shanty  in  Brooklyn  was 
displayed  a  cheap  print  of  the  President,  framed 
in  black,  with  these  words  written  below,  "  We 
mourn  our  loss."  Even  as  I  write,  the  insignia  of 
grief  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  tenement-house 
districts  on  the  East  Side  of  New  York,  and  there 
seems  a  reluctance  to  remove  them. 

But  not  alone  to  our  own  country  were  con 
fined  the  exhibitions  of  sympathy,  and  the  anxious 
alternations  of  hope  and  fear.  There  was  scarcely 
a  portion  of  the  globe  in  which  the  hearts  of  the 
people  were  not  deeply  stirred  by  the  daily  bulle 
tins  that  came  from  the  sick  couch  of  the  patient 


310  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

sufferer.  Of  the  profound  impression  made  in 
England  I  shall  give  a  description,  contributed  to 
the  ISTew  York  Tribune  by  its  London  corre 
spondent,  Mr.  G.  TV.  Small ey,  only  premising 
that  the  sympathy  and  grief  were  universal :  from 
the  Queen,  whose  messages  of  tender,  womanly 
sympathy  will  not  soon  be  forgotten,  to  the  hum 
blest  day-laborers  in  the  country  districts.  Never 
in  England  has  such  grief  been  exhibited  at  the 
sickness  and  death  of  a  foreign  ruler,  and  the  re 
membrance  of  it  will  drawr  yet  closer  together,  for 
all  time  to  come,  the  two  great  sections  of  the 
English-speaking  tongue.  TVere  it  not  a  subject 
of  such  general  interest,  I  should  apologize  for  the 
space  I  propose  to  give  to  England's  mourning: 

"  It  happened  that  some  of  the  humbler  classes 
were  among  the  most  eager  to  signify  their  feel 
ings.  The  omnibus-drivers  had  each  a  knot  of 
crape  on  his  whip.  Many  of  the  cabmen  had  the 
same  thing,  and  so  had  the  draymen.  In  the  city, 
properly  so  called,  and  along  the  water-side,  it 
was  the  poorer  shops  and  the  smaller  craft  that  most 
frequently  exhibited  tokens  of  public  grief.  Of 
the  people  one  met  in  mourning  the  same  thing 
was  true.  Between  mourning  put  on  for  the  day 


JAMES  A.    GABFIELD. 


and  that  which  was  worn  for  private  affliction  it 
was  not  possible  to  distinguish.  But  in  many 
cases  it  was  plain  enough  that  the  black  coat  on 
the  workingman's  shoulders,  or  the  bonnet  or  bit 
of  crape  which  a  shop-girl  wore,  was  no  part  of 
their  daily  attire.  They  had  done  as  much  as 
they  could  to  mark  themselves  as  mourners  for 
the  President.  It  was  not  much,  but  it  was 
enough.  It  had  cost  them  some  thought,  a  little 
pains,  sometimes  a  little  money,  and  they  were 
people  whose  lives  brought  a  burden  to  every 
hour,  who  had  no  superfluity  of  strength  or 
means,  and  on  whom  even  a  slight  effort  imposed 
a  distinct  sacrifice.  They  are  not  of  the  class  to 
whom  the  Queen's  command  for  Court  mourning 
was  addressed.  Few  of  that  class  are  now  in  Lon 
don.  St.  James'  Street  and  Pall  Mall,  Belgravia 
and  May  Fair  are  depopulated.  The  compliance 
with  the  Queen's  behest  has  been,  I  am  sure,  gen 
eral  and  hearty,  but  evidences  of  it  were  to  be 
sought  elsewhere  than  in  London. 

u  Of  other  demonstrations  it  can  hardly  be  nec 
essary  to  repeat  or  enlarge  upon  the  description 
you  have  already  had.  The  drawn  blinds  of  the 
Mansion  House  and  of  Buckingham  Palace,  the 


312  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

flags  at  half-mast  in  the  Thames  on  ships  of  every 
nationality,  the  Stock  and  Metal  Exchanges  closed, 
the  royal  standard  at  half-mast  on  the  steeple  of 
the  royal  church  of  St.  Martin-in-the-Fields ;  the 
darkened  windows  of  great  numbers  of  banking 
houses  and  other  places  of  business  in  the  city  it 
self — of  all  these  you  have  heard. 

"At  the  West  End,  the  shops  were  not,  as  a 
rule,  draped  with  black.  Some  of  them  had  the 
Union  Jack  at  half-mast;  a  few  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  in  black  with  white  and  black  hangings  on 
the  shop  fronts.  .The  greater  number  of  shop 
keepers  testified  to  their  association  with  the  gen 
eral  feeling  by  shutters  overhanging  the  tops  of 
the  windows,  or  by  perpendicular  slabs  at  intervals 
down  the  glass.  Some  had  nothing ;  but  in  Re 
gent  Street,  Bond  Street,  St.  James'  Street,  and 
Piccadilly,  which  are  the  fashionable  business 
streets  of  the  West  End,  those  which  had  nothing 
were  the  exception.  The  American  Legation  in 
Victoria  Street,  and  the  American  Consulate  in 
Old  Broad  Street,  both  of  which  were  closed, 
were  in  deep  mourning.  The  American  Dispatch 
Agency,  occupying  part  of  a  conspicuous  building 
in  Trafalgar  Square,  had  nothing  to  indicate  its 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  313 

connection  with.  America  or  any  share  in  the 
general  sorrow. 

"In  many  private  houses — I  should  say  the 
majority  in  such  streets  as  I  passed  through  dur 
ing  the  day — the  blinds  were  down  as  they  would 
have  been  for  a  death  in  the  family.  The  same 
is  true  of  some  of  the  clubs,  and  some  of  the  ho 
tels.  The  Reform  Club,  of  which  Garfield  is 
said  to  have  been  an  honorary  member,  had  a 
draped  American  flag  over  the  door. 

"  To-day,  as  on  every  previous  day  since  the 
President's  death,  the  London  papers  print  many 
columns  of  accounts,  each  account  very  brief,  of 
what  has  been  done  and  said  in  the  so-called  pro 
vincial  towns.  One  journal  prefaces  its  copious 
record  by  the  impressive  statement  that  from 
nearly  every  town  and  village  telegraphic  mes 
sages  have  been  sent  by  its  correspondents  describ 
ing  the  respect  paid  to  General  Garfield  on  the 
day  of  his  funeral.  These  tributes  are  necessarily 
in  many  places  of  a  similar  character,  yet  the  va 
riety  of  sources  from  which  they  proceed  is  wide 
enough  to  include  almost  every  form  of  municipal, 
ecclesiastical,  political,  or  individual  activity.  Ev 
erywhere  bells  are  tolled,  churches  thrown  open 


314  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

for  service,  flags  drooping,  business  is  interrupted, 
resolutions  are  passed.  Liverpool,  as  is  natural 
for  the  multiplicity  and  closeness  of  her  relations 
with  the  United  States,  may  perhaps  be  said  to 
have  taken  the  lead.  She  closed,  either  in  whole 
or  in  part,  her  Cotton  Market,  her  Produce  Mar 
kets,  her  Provision  Market,  her  Stock  Exchange. 
Her  papers  came  out  in  mourning.  The  bells 
tolled  all  day  long. 

"  Few  merchants,  one  reads,  came  to  their  places 
of  business,  and  most  of  those  who  came  were  in 
black.  The  Mayor  and  members  of  the  Corpo 
ration,  in  their  robes,  attended  a  memorial  service 
at  St.  Peter's,  and  the  cathedral  overflowed  with 
its  sorrowing  congregation.  Manchester,  Newcas 
tle,  Birmingham,  Glasgow,  Bradford,  Edinburgh 
were  not  much  behind  Liverpool  in  demonstra 
tions,  and  not  at  all  behind  it  in  spirit.  It  is  an 
evidence  of  the  community  of  feeling  between  the 
two  countries  that  so  much  of  the  action  is  offi 
cial.  What  makes  these  official  acts  so  striking, 
also,  is  the  evident  feeling  at  the  bottom  of  this, 
that  between  England  and  America  there  is  some 
kind  of  a  relation  which  brings  the  loss  of  the  Pres 
ident  into  the  same  category  with  the  loss  of  an 
English  ruler. 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 

"At  Edinburgh  it  is  the  Lord  Provost  who  or 
ders  the  bells  to  he  tolled  till  two.  At  Glasgow 
the  Town  Council  adjourns.  At  Stratford-on- 
Avon  the  Mayor  orders  the  flag  to  be  hoisted  at 
half-mast  over  the  Town  Hall,  and  the  blinds  to 
be  drawn,  and  invites  the  citizens  to  follow  his 
example,  which  they  do ;  the  bell  at  the  Chapel 
of  the  Holy  Cion  tolling  every  minute  while  the 
funeral  is  solemnized  at  Cleveland.  At  Leeds 
the  bell  in  the  Town  Hall  is  muffled  and  tolled, 
and  the  public  meeting  which  the  United  States 
Consul,  Mr.  Dockery,  addresses,  is  under  the 
presidency  of  the  acting  Mayor.  Mr.  Dockery 
remarked  that  as  compared  with  other  great  towns, 
so  few  were  the  American  residents  in  Leeds,  that 
the  great  exhibition  of  sympathy  had  utterly 
amazed  him.  The  remark  is  natural,  but  Mr. 
Dockery  need  not  have  been  amazed.  The  whole 
population  of  Leeds  was  American  yesterday ; 
and  of  all  England.  At  Oxford  the  Town  Coun 
cil  voted  an  address  to  Mrs.  Garfield.  At  the 
Plymouth  Guildhall  the  maces,  the  emblems  of 
municipal  authority,  were  covered  with  black. 
At  Dublin  the  Lord  Mayor  proposed,  and  the  Al 
dermen  adopted,  a  resolution  of  sympathy. 


31(5  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

"In  all  the  cathedral  towns  the  cathedral  au 
thorities  prescribed,  services  for  the  occasion.  I 
omit,  because  I  have  no  room  for  them,  scores  of 
other  accounts,  not  less  significant  and  not  less  af 
fecting.  They  are  all  in  one  tone  and  one  spirit. 
Wherever  in  England,  yesterday,  two  or  three 
were  gathered  together,  President  Gartield's 
name  was  heard.  Privately  and  publicly,  sim 
ply  as*  between  man  and  man,  or  formally  with 
the  decorous  solemnity  and  stately  observance 
befitting  bodies  which  bear  a  relation  to  the  Gov 
ernment,  a  tribute  of  honest  grief  was  offered  to 
the  President  and  his  family,  and  of  honest  sym 
pathy  to  his  country.  Steeple  spoke  to  steeple, 
distant  cities  clasped  hands.  The  State,  the 
Church,  the  people  of  England  were  at  one  to 
gether  in  their  sorrow,  and  in  their  earnest  wish 
to  offer  some  sort  of  comfort  to  their  mourning 
brothers  beyond  the  sea.  You  heard  in  every 
mouth  the  old  cry,  '  Blood  is  thicker  than  water.' 
And  the  voice  which  is  perhaps  best  entitled  to 
speak  for  the  whole  nation  added,  '  Yes,  though 
the  water  be  a  whole  Atlantic  Ocean.' ': 

In  addition  to  these  impressive  demonstrations, 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  held  a  service  and 
delivered  an  address  in  the  church  of  St.  Martin- 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  317 

in-the-Fields,  on  Monday.  Mr.  Lowell  had  been 
invited,  of  course,  by  the  church  wardens,  and  a 
pew  reserved  for  him,  but  when  he  reached  the 
church  with  his  party  half  his  pew  was  occupied. 

"  The  Archbishop,  who  wore  deep  crape  over 
his  Episcopal  robes,  avoided  calling  his  discourse 
a  sermon,  and  avoided,  likewise,  through  the 
larger  portion  of  it,  the  purely  professional  tone 
common  in  the  pulpit  on  such  occasions.  During 
a  great  part  of  his  excellent  address  he  spoke,  as 
anybody  else  might  have  done,  of  the  manly  side 
of  the  President's  character.  He  gave,  more 
over,  his  own  view  of  the  reason  why  all  England 
has  been  so  strangely  moved.  c  During  the  long 
period  of  the  President's  suffering,'  said  the 
Archbishop,  i  we  had  time  to  think  what  manner 
of  man  this  was  over  whom  so  great  a  nation  was 
mourning  day  by  day.  We  learned  what  a 
noble  history  his  was,  and  we  were  taught  to 
trace  a  career  such  as  England  before  knew 
nothing  of.' 

"Among  the  innumerable  testimonies  to  the 
purity  and  beauty  of  Garfi  eld's  character,"  says 
Mr.  Smalley,  "  this  address  of  the  Primate  of 
the  English  Church  surely  is  one  which  all  Amer 
icans  may  acknowledge  with  grateful  pride." 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

ME.    DEPEW'S    ESTIMATE    OF    GAKFIELD. 

MY  task  is  drawing  near  a  close.  I  have,  in 
different  parts  of  this  volume,  expressed  my  own 
estimate  of  our  lamented  President.  No  char 
acter  in  our  history,  as  it  seems  to  me,  furnishes 
a  brighter  or  more  inspiring  example  to  boys  and 
young  men.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  I  have  been 
induced  to  write  the  story  of  his  life  especially 
for  American  boys,  conceiving  that  in  no  way  can 
I  do  them  a  greater  service. 

But  I  am  glad,  in  confirmation  of  my  own 
estimate,  to  quote  at  length  the  eloquent  words 
of  Hon.  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  in  his  address 
before  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  He 
says  of  Garfield : 

"  In  America  and  Europe  he  is  recognized  as 
an  illustrious  example  of  the  results  of  free  insti 
tutions.  His  career  shows  what  can  be  accom 
plished  where  all  avenues  are  open  and  exertion 
(318) 


JAMES  A.   OARF1ELD.  319 

is  untrammeled.  Our  aimals  afford  no  such  in 
centive  to  youth  as  does  his  life,  and  it  will  be 
come  one  of  the  republic's  household  stories.  No 
boy  in  poverty  almost  hopeless,  thirsting  for 
knowledge,  meets  an  obstacle  which  Garfield  did 
not  experience  and  overcome.  No  youth  despair 
ing  in  darkness  feels  a  gloom  which  he  did  not 
dispel.  No  young  man  filled  with  honorable 
ambition  can  encounter  a  difficulty  which  he  did 
not  meet  and  surmount.  For  centuries  to  come 
great  men  will  trace  their  rise  from  humble 
origins  to  the  inspirations  of  that  lad  who  learned 
to  read  by  the  light  of  a  pine-knot  in  a  log- cabin  ; 
who,  ragged  and  barefooted,  trudged  along  the 
tow-path  of  the  canal,  and  without  money  or 
affluent  relations,  without  friends  or  assistance,  by 
faith  in  himself  and  in  God,  became  the  most 
scholarly  and  best  equipped  statesman  of  his 
time,  one  of  the  foremost  soldiers  of  his  country, 
the  best  debater  in  the  strongest  of  deliberative 
bodies,  the  leader  of  his  party,  and  the  Chief 
Magistrate  of  fifty  millions  of  people  before  he 
was  fifty  years  of  age. 

"We  are  not  here  to  question  the  ways  of 
Providence.     Our  prayers  were  not  answered  as 


320  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD  OF 

we  desired,  though  the  volume  arid  fervor  of  our 
importunity  seemed  resistless;  but  already,  be 
hind  the  partially  lifted  veil,  we  see  the  fruits  of 
the  sacrifice.  Old  wounds  are  healed  and  fierce 
feuds  forgotten.  Vengeance  and  passion  which 
have  survived  the  best  statesmanship  of  twenty 
years  are  dispelled  by  a  common  sorrow.  Love 
follows  sympathy.  Over  this  open  grave  the 
cypress  and  willow  are  indissolubly  united,  and 
into  it  are  buried  all  sectional  differences  and 
hatreds.  The  North  and  the  South  rise  from 
bended  knees  to  embrace  in  the  brotherhood  of  a 
common  people  and  reunited  country.  Not  this 
alone,  but  the  humanity  of  the  civilized  world 
has  been  quickened  and  elevated,  and  the 
English-speaking  people  are  nearer  to-day  in 
peace  and  unity  than  ever  before.  There  is  no 
language  in  which  petitions  have  not  arisen  for 
Garfield's  life,  and  no  clime  where  tears  have  not 
fallen  for  his  death.  The  Queen  of  the  proudest 
of  nations,  for  the  first  time  in  our  recollections, 
brushes  aside  the  formalities  of  diplomacy,  and, 
descending  from  the  throne,  speaks  for  her  own 
and  the  hearts  of  all  her  people,  in  the  cable,  to 
the  afflicted  wife,  which  says :  <  Myself  and  my 
children  mourn  with  you.' 


JAJtfES  A.   GARFIELD.  321 

"  It  was  m j  privilege  to  talk  for  hours  with 
Gen.  Garfield  during  his  famous  trip  to  the  New 
York  conference  in  the  late  canvass,  and  yet  it 
was  not  conversation  or  discussion.  He  fastened 
upon  me  all  the  powers  of  inquisitiveness  and 
acquisitiveness,  and  absorbed  all  I  had  learned  in 
twenty  years  of  the  politics  of  this  State.  Under 
this  restless  and  resistless  craving  for  information, 
he  drew  upon  all  the  resources  of  the  libraries, 
gathered  all  the  contents  of  the  newspapers,  and 
sought  and  sounded  the  opinions  of  all  around 
him,  and  in  his  broad,  clear  mind  the  vast  mass 
was  so  assimilated  and  tested  that  when  he  spoke 
or  acted,  it  was  accepted  as  true  and  wise.  And  yet 
it  was  by  the  gush  and  warmth  of  old  college- 
chum  ways,  and  not  by  the  arts  of  the  inquisitor, 
that  when  he  had  gained  he  never  lost  a  friend. 
His  strength  was  in  ascertaining  and  expressing 
the  average  sense  of  his  audience.  I  saw  him 
at  the  Chicago  Convention,  and  whenever  that 
popular  assemblage  seemed  drifting  into  hopeless 
confusion,  his  tall  form  commanded  attention,  and 
his  clear  voice  and  clear  utterances  instantly  gave 
the  accepted  solution. 

"  I  arrived  at  his  house  at  Mentor  in  the  early 


21 


322  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   Off 

morning  following  the  disaster  in  Maine.  While 
all  about  him  were  in  panic,  he  saw  only  a  dam 
age  which  must  and  could  be  repaired.  '  It  is  no 
use  bemoaning  the  past,'  he  said ;  '  the  past  has  no 
uses  except  for  its  lessons.'  Business  disposed  of, 
he  threw  aside  all  restraint,  and  for  hours  his 
speculations  and  theories  upon  philosophy,  gov 
ernment,  education,  eloquence;  his  criticism  of 
books,  his  reminiscences  of  men  and  events,  have 
made  that  one  of  the  white-letter  days  of  my  life. 
At  Chickarnauga  he  won  his  major-general's  com 
mission.  On  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  he 
died.  I  shall  never  forget  his  description  of  the 
fight — so  modest,  yet  graphic.  It  is  imprinted  on 
my  memory  as  the  most  glorious  battle-picture 
words  ever  painted.  He  thought  the  greatest 
calamity  which  could  befall  a  man  was  to  lose 
ambition.  I  said  to  him,  i  General,  did  you  never 
in  your  earlier  struggle  have  that  feeling  I  have 
so  often  met  with,  when  you  would  have  com 
promised  your  future  for  a  certainty,  and  if  so, 
what!'  'Yes,'  said  he,  'I  remember  well  when 
I  would  have  been  willing  to  exchange  all  the 
possibilities  of  my  life  for  the  certain  ty  of  a  posi 
tion  as  a  successful  teacher.'  Though  he  died 


JAMES  A.   GARFTELD.  323 

neither  a  school  principal  nor  college  professor, 
and  they  seem  humble  achievements  compared 
with  what  he  did,  his  memory  will  instruct  while 
time  endures. 

"  His  lon<*  and  dreadful  sickness  lifted  the  roof 

O 

from  his  house  and  family  circle,  and  his  relations 
as  son,  husband,  and  father  stood  revealed  in  the 
broadest  sunlight  of  publicity.  The  picture  en 
deared  him  wherever  is  understood  the  full  sig 
nificance  of  that  matchless  word  i  Home.'  When 
he  stood  by  the  capitol  just  pronounced  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  greatest  and  most  powerful  of  repub 
lics,  the  exultation  of  the  hour  found  its  expres 
sion  in  a  kiss  upon  the  lips  of  his  mother.  For 
weeks,  in  distant  Ohio,  she  sat  by  the  gate  watch 
ing  for  the  hurrying  feet  of  the  messenger  bear 
ing  the  telegrams  of  hope  or  despair.  His  last 
conscious  act  was  to  write  a  letter  of  cheer  and 
encouragement  to  that  mother,  and  when  the  blow 
fell  she  illustrated  the  spirit  she  had  instilled  in 
him.  There  were  no  rebellious  murmurings 
against  the  Divine  dispensation,  only  in  utter 
agony :  <  I  have  no  wish  to  live  longer ;  I  will 
join  him  soon  ;  the  Lord's  will  be  done.'  When 
Dr.  Bliss  told  him  he  had  a  bare  chance  of  re- 


324  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

covery,  '  Then,'  said  he,  <  we  will  take  that  chance, 
doctor.'  "When  asked  if  he  suffered  pain,  he  an 
swered:  i  If  you  can  imagine  a  trip-hammer 
crashing  on  your  body,  or  cramps  such  as  you 
have  in  the  water  a  thousand  times  intensified, 
you  can  have  some  idea  of  what  I  suffer.'  And 
yet,  during  those  eighty-one  days  was  heard 
neither  groan  nor  complaint.  Always  brave  and 
cheerful,  he  answered  the  fear  of  the  surgeons 
with  the  remark :  '  I  have  faced  death  before ;  I 
am  not  afraid  to  meet  him  now.'  And  again,  '  I 
have  strength  enough  left  to  tight  him  yet ' — and 
he  could  whisper  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
an  inquiry  about  the  success  of  the  funding 
scheme,  and  ask  the  Postmaster-General  how 
much  public  money  he  had  saved. 

"  As  he  lay  in  the  cottage  by  the  sea,  looking 
out  upon  the  ocean,  whose  broad  expanse  was  in 
harmony  with  his  own  grand  nature,  and  heard 
the  beating  of  the  waves  upon  the  shore,  and  felt 
the  pulsations  of  millions  of  hearts  against  his 
chamber  door,  there  was  no  posing  for  history  and 
no  preparation  of  last  words  for  dramatic  effect. 
With  simple  naturalness  he  gave  the  military 
salute  to  the  sentinel  gazing  at  his  window,  and 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD.  325 

that  soldier,  returning  it  in  tears,  will  probably 
cany  its  memory  to  his  dying  day  and  transmit 
it  to  his  children.  The  voice  of  his  faithful  wife 
came  from  her  devotions  in  another  room,  sing 
ing,  i  Guide  me,  O  Thou  Great  Jehovah.'  t  Listen,' 
he  cries,  '  is  not  that  glorious  ? '  and  in  a  few 
hours  heaven's  portals  opened  and  upborne  upon 
prayers  as  never  before  wafted  spirit  above  he 
entered  the  presence  of  God.  It  is  the  allevia 
tion  of  all  sorrow,  public  or  private,  that  close 
upon  it  press  the  duties  of  and  to  the  living. 

4<  The  tolling  bells,  the  minute-guns  upon  land 
and  sea,  the  muffled  drums  and  funeral  hymns  fill 
the  air  while  our  chief  is  borne  to  his  last  resting- 
place.  The  busy  world  is  stilled  for  the  hour 
when  loving  hands  are  preparing  his  grave.  A 
stately  shaft  will  rise,  overlooking  the  lake  and 
commemorating  his  deeds.  But  his  fame  will 
not  live  alone  in  marble  or  brass.  His  story  will 
be  treasured  and  kept  warm  in  the  hearts  of  mil 
lions  for  generations  to  come,  and  boys  hearing  it 
from  their  mothers  will  be  fired  with  nobler  am 
bitions.  To  his  countrymen  he  will  always  be  a 
typical  American,  soldier,  and  statesman.  A  year 
ago  and  not  a  thousand  people  of  the  old  world 


326  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

had  ever  heard  his  name,  and  now  there  is  scarcely 
a  thousand  who  do  not  mourn  his  loss.  The 
peasant  loves  him  because  from  the  same  humble 
lot  he  became  one  of  the  mighty  of  earth,  and 
sovereigns  respect  him  because  in  his  royal  gifts 
and  kingly  nature  God  made  him  their  equal." 


CHAPTER  XXXYI. 

THE    LESSONS    OF    HIS    LIFE. 

PROBABLY  the  nearest  and  closest  friend  of 
Gartield,  intellectually  speaking,  was  his  successor 
in  the  presidency  of  Hiram  College,  B.  A.  Bins- 
dale.  If  any  one  understood  the  dead  President 
it  was  he.  For  many  years  they  corresponded 
regularly,  exchanging  views  upon  all  topics  that 
interested  either.  They  would  not  always  agree, 
but  this  necessarily  followed  from  the  mental  inde 
pendence  of  each.  To  Mr.  Hinsdale  we  turn  for 
a  trustworthy  analysis  of  the  character  and  intel 
lectual  greatness  of  his  friend,  and  this  he  gives 
us  in  an  article  published  in  the  "N".  Y.  Inde 
pendent  of  Sept.  29,  1881 : 

"  First  of  all,  James  A.  Garfield  had  greatness 
of  nature.  Were  I  limited  to  one  sentence  of  de 
scription,  it  would  be :  He  was  a  great-natured 
man.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  and  massive  body. 

A  strong  frame,  broad  shoulders,  powerful  vital 

(327) 


328  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

apparatus,  and  a  massive  head  furnished  the 
physical  basis  of  his  life.  He  was  capable  of  an 
indefinite  amount  of  work,  both  physical  and 
mental.  His  intellectual  status  was  equally  strong 
and  massive.  He  excelled  almost  all  men  both  in 
the  patient  accumulation  of  facts  and  in  bold 
generalization.  He  had  great  power  of  logical 
analysis,  and  stood  with  the  first  in  rhetorical  ex 
position.  He  had  the  best  instincts  and  habits  of 
the  scholar.  He  loved  to  roam  in  every  field  of 
knowledge.  He  delighted  in  the  creations  of  the 
imagination — poetry,  fiction,  and  art.  He  loved 
the  deep  things  of  philosophy.  He  took  a  keen 
interest  in  scientific  research.  He  gathered  into 
his  storehouse  the  facts  of  history  and  politics, 
and  threw  over  the  whole  the  life  and  power  of 
his  own  originality. 

"  The  vast  labors  that  he  crowded  into  those 
thirty  years— labors  rarely  equaled  in  the  history 
of  men — are  the  fittest  gauge  of  his  physical  and 
intellectual  power.  His  moral  character  was  on 
a  scale  equally  large  and  generous.  Ilis  feelings 
were  delicate,  his  sympathies  most  responsive,  his 
sense  of  justice  keen.  He  was  alive  to  delicate 
points  of  honor.  No  other  man  whom  I  have 


JAMES  A.    OARFIELD.  329 

known  had  such  heart.  He  had  great  faith  in 
human  nature  and  was  wholly  free  from  jealousy 
and  suspicion.  He  was  one  of  the  most  helpful 
and  appreciative  of  men.  His  largeness  of  views 
and  generosity  of  spirit  were  such  that  he  seemed 
incapable  of  personal  resentment.  He  was  once 
exhorted  to  visit  moral  indignation  upon  some 
men  who  had  wronged  him  deeply.  Fully  ap 
preciating  the  baseness  of  their  conduct,  he  said 
he  would  try,  but  added :  '  I  am  afraid  some  one 
will  have  to  help  me.' 

"  What  is  more,  General  Garlield  was  religious, 
both  by  nature  and  by  habit.  His  mind  was 
strong;  in  the  religious  element.  His  near  rela- 

O  O 

tives  received  the  Gospel  as  it  was  proclaimed 
fifty  years  ago  by  Thomas  and  Alexander  Camp 
bell.  He  made  public  profession  of  religion  be 
fore  he  reached  his  twentieth  year  and  became  a 
member  of  the  same  church,  and  such  he  re 
mained  until  his  death.  Like  all  men  of  his 
thought  and  reading,  he  understood  the  hard 
cju'jotions  that  modern  science  and  criticism  have 
brought  into  the  field  of  religion.  Whether  he 
ever  wrought  these  out  to  his  own  full  satisfac- 

O 

tion  I  can  not  say.     However  that  may  be,  his 


330  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

native  piety,  his  early  training,  and  his  sober  con 
victions  held  him  fast  to  the  great  truths  of  re 
vealed  religion.  Withal,  he  was  a  man  of  great 
simplicity  of  character.  No  one  could  be  more 
approachable.  He  drew  men  to  him  as  the  mag 
net  the  iron  filings.  This  he  did  naturally  and 
without  conscious  plan  or  effort.  At  times,  when 
the  burden  of  work  was  heavy  and  his  strength 
overdrawn,  intimate  friends  would  urge  him  to 
withdraw  himself  somewhat  from  the  crowds  that 
flocked  to  him  ;  but  almost  always  the  advice  was 
vain.  His  sympathy  with  the  people  was  imme 
diate  and  quick.  He  seemed  almost  intuitively 
to  read  the  public  thought  and  feeling.  No  mat 
ter  what  was  his  station,  he  always  remembered 
the  rock  from  which  he  had  himself  been  hewn. 
Naturally  he  inspired  confidence  in  all  men  who 
came  into  contact  with  him.  When  a  young  man, 
and  even  a  boy,  he  ranked  in  judgment  and  in 
counsel  with  those  much  his  seniors. 

"  It  is  not  remarkable,  therefore,  that  he  should 
have  led  a  great  career.  He  was  always  writh  the 
foremost  or  in  the  lead,  no  matter  what  the  work 
in  hand.  He  was  a  good  wood-chopper  and  a 
good  canal  hand;  he  was  a  good  school  janitor; 


JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  33^ 

and,  upon  the  whole,  ranked  all  competitors,  both 
in  Hiram  and  in  Williamstown,  as  a  student.  He 
was  an  excellent  teacher.  He  was  the  youngest 
man  in  the  Ohio  Senate.  When  made  brigadier- 
general,  he  was  the  youngest  man  of  that  rank 
in  the  army.  "When  he  entered  it,  he  was  the 
youngest  man  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives.  His  great  ability  and  signal  useful 
ness  as  teacher,  legislator,  popular  orator,  and 
President  must  be  passed  with  a  single  reference. 

"  He  retained  his  simplicity  and  parity  of  char 
acter  to  the  end.  Neither  place  nor  power  cor 
rupted  his  honest  fiber.  Advancement  in  public 
favor  and  position  gave  him  pleasure,  but  brought 
him  no  feeling  of  elation.  For  many  years  Presi 
dent  Garfield  and  the  writer  exchanged  letters  at 
the  opening  of  each  new  year.  January  5th,  last, 
he  wrote : 

u  i  For  myself,  the  year  has  been  full  of  sur 
prises,  and  has  brought  more  sadness  than  joy.  I 
am  conscious  of  two  things :  firtt,  that  I  have 
never  had,  and  do  not  think  I  shall  take,  the  Presi 
dential  fever.  Second,  that  I  am  not  elated  with 
the  election  to  that  office.  On  the  contrary,  while 
appreciating  the  honor  and  the  opportunities 


332  BOYHOOD  AND  MANHOOD   OF 

which  the  place  bring,  I  feel  heavily  the  loss  of 
liberty  which  accompanies  it,  and  especially  that 
it  will  in  a  great  measure  stop  my  growth.' 

"  March  26,  1881,  in  the  midst  of  the  political 
tempest  following  his  inauguration,  he  wrote  :  '  I 
throw  you  a  line  across  the  storm,  to  let  you  know 
that  I  think,  when  I  have  a  moment  between 
breaths,  of  the  dear  old  quiet  and  peace  of  Hiram 
and  Mentor.'  How  he  longed  for  i  the  dear  old 
quiet  and  peace  of  Hiram  and  Mentor'  in  the 
weary  days  following  the  assassin's  shot  all  read 
ers  of  the  newspapers  know  already. 

"  Such  are  some  main  lines  in  the  character  of 
this  great-natured  and  richly-cultured  man.  The 
outline  is  but  poor  and  meager.  Well  do  I  re 
member  the  days  following  the  Chicago  Conven 
tion,  when  the  biographers  nocked  to  Mentor. 
How  hard  they  found  it  to  compress  within  the 
limits  both  of  their  time  and  their  pages  the  life, 
services,  and  character  of  their  great  subject. 
One  of  these  discouraged  historians  one  day  wea 
rily  said  :  £  General,  how  much  there  is  of  you ! ' 

"  Space  fails  to  speak  of  President  Garfi eld's 
short  administration.  Fortunately,  it  is  not  neces 
sary.  Nor  can  I  give  the  history  of  the  assassi- 


JAMES  A.   QARFIELD.  333 

nation  or  sketch  the  gallant  fight  for  life.  His 
courage  and  fortitude,  faith  and  hope,  patience 
and  tenderness  are  a  part  of  his  country's  history. 
Dying,  as  well  as  living,  he  maintained  his  great 
position  with  appropriate  power  and  dignity. 
His  waving  his  white  hand  to  the  inmates  of  the 
White  House,  the  morning  he  was  borne  sick  out 
of  it,  reminds  one  of  dying  Sidney's  motioning 
the  cup  of  water  to  the  lips  of  the  wounded  sol 
dier.  No  man's  life  was  ever  prayed  for  by  so 
many  people.  The  name  of  no  living  man  has 
been  upon  so  many  lips.  No  sick-bed  was  ever 
the  subject  of  so  much  tender  solicitude.  That 
one  so  strong  in  faculties,  so  rich  in  knowledge, 
so  ripe  in  experience,  so  noble  in  character,  so 
needful  to  the  nation,  and  so  dear  to  his  friends 
should  be  taken  in  a  way  so  foul  almost  taxes 
faith  in  the  Divine  love  and  wisdom.  Perhaps, 
however,  in  the  noble  lessons  of  those  eighty 
days  from  July  2d  to  September  19th,  and  in  the 
moral  unification  of  the  country,  history  will  find 
full  compensation  for  our  great  loss. 

"  Finally,  the  little  white-haired  mother  and 
the  constant  wife  must  not  be  passed  unnoticed. 
How  the  old  mother  prayed  and  waited,  and  the 


334  JAMES  A.    GARFIELD. 

brave  wife  wrought  and  hoped,  will  live  forever, 
Loth  in  history  and  in  legend.  It  is  not  impiety 
to  say  that  wheresoever  President  Garfi eld's  story 
shall  be  told  in  the  whole  world  there  shall  also 
this,  that  these  women  have  done,  be  told  for  a 
memorial  of  them." 


THE   END. 


NOW    R  E  ADY. 


THB 

ES    ID  I 

LITTLE  FOLKS  BOOKS. 

12  volumes,  i6mo,  cloth.     Illustrated.     Price  per  vol. 

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AS  FOLLOWS: 


LITTLE  PAUL,         .   fr 
SMfKE,         ... 
THE  CHILD   WIFE, 
LITTLE   NELL,        . 
DAME  DURDEN,     . 
The  TWO  DA  UGHTERS, 
FLORENCE  DOMBEY, 
DOLLY  YARD  EN,         ) 
and  the  \ 

LITTL  E  COQUE  TTE,  ) 
SISSY  JUPE,      .        . 
TINY  TIM  and  DOT, 
OLIVER  and  the\ 
JEW  FA  GIN,     } 


DOMBEY  &  SON. 
NICHOLAS  NICKLEBY. 
DAVID  COPPERFIELD. 
OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP. 
BLEAK  HOUSE. 
MAR  TIN  CHUZZLE  WIT. 
DOMBEY  &  SON. 

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CHRISTMAS  STORIES. 
Of  TVFR 


"CKWICK  PAPERS. 


JOHN  E,  ANDERSON,  Publisher, 

NEW  YORK. 


GENERAL    PREFACE. 


THE  present  series  of  volumes  has  been  under 
taken  with  the  view  of  supplying  the  want  of  a 
class  of  books  for  children,  of  a  vigorous,  manly 
tone,  combined  with  a  plain  and  concise  mode  of 
narration.  The  writings  of  Charles  Dickens  have 
been  selected  as  .the  basis  of  the  scheme,  on 
account  of  the  well-known  excellence  of  his  por 
trayal  of  children,  and  the  interests  connected 
witli  children — qualities  which  have  given  his 
volumes  their  strongest  hold  on  the  hearts  of 
parents.  These  delineations  having  thus  received 
the  approval  of  readers  of  mature  age,  it  seemed 
a  worthy  effort  to  make  the  young  also  partici 
pants  in  the  enjoyment  of  these  classic  fictions,  to 
introduce  the  children  of  real  life  to  these  beauti 
ful  children  of  the  imagination. 

With   this  view,  the  career  of  Little  Nell  and 
her  Grandfather,   Oliver,    Little  Paul,   Florence 


VI  GENERAL    PREFACE. 

Dombey,  Smike,  and  the  Child-Wife,  have  been 
detached  from  the  large  mass  of  matter  with 
which  they  were  originally  connected,  and  pre 
sented,  in  the  author's  own  language,  to  a  new 
class  of  readers,  to  whom  the  little  volumes  will 
we  doubt  not,  be  as  attractive  as  the  larger  origi 
nals  have  so  long  proved  to  the  general  public* 
We  have  brought  down  these  famous  stories  from 
the  library  to  the  nursery — the  parlor  table  to  the 
child's  hands — having  a  precedent  for  the  pro 
ceeding,  if  one  be  needed,  in  the  somewhat  simi 
lar  work,  the  Tales  from  Shakespeare,  by  one  of 
the  choicest  of  English  authors  and  most  reveren 
tial  of  scholars,  Charles  Lamb. 


Newtonville 
Mass. 


I 


S  M  I  E  E 


FROM    THE 


NICHOLAS     NICK LED Y 


OP 


CHARLES    DICKENS 


ILLUSTRATED      BY      DARIEY. 


NEW    /ORK- 
JOHN    R.    ANDERSON,    PUBLISHER, 


THE  BOY  JOE 


SAMUEL    WELLER 


FROM 


THE   PICKWICK  PAPERS 


CHARLES   DICKENS. 


ILLUSTRATED     BY     DARLEY. 


NEW    YORK: 
JOHN    R.    ANDERSON,    PUBLISHER, 


LITTLE  PAUL 


FROM    THE 


DOMBEY      AND     SON 


OP 


CHARLES    DICKENS 


ILLUSTRATED     BY     DARLEY. 


NEW    YORK: 
JOUN    R.    ANDERSON,    PUBLISHER, 


SISSY     JUPE 


FROM   THE 


HARD      TIMES 


OF 


CHARLES   DICKENS. 


ILLUSTRATED     BY     DARLEY. 


NEW    YORK: 
JOHN    B.    ANDERSON,    PUBLISHER, 


FLORENCE  DOMBEY 


FROM    THK 


DOMBEY    AND    SON 


CHARLES  DICKENS 


ILLUSTRATED      BY      DARLEV 


NEW    YORK: 
JOHN    R.    ANDERSON.    PUBLISHER, 


DOLLY    VARDEN 

THE    LITTLE    COQUETTE 


FROM 


THE    BARNABY    RUDGE 


OF 


CHARLES    DICKENS, 


ILLUSTRATED      BY      DARLKY, 


NEW    YORK: 
JOHN    R.    ANDERSON,    PUBLISHER. 


TINY    TIM 
DOT 


AND 


THE  FAIRY  CRICKET 


FROM 


THE    CHRISTMAS    STORIES 


OF 


CHARLES    DICKENS. 


ILLUSTRATED     BY      DARLEY. 


NEW    YORK: 
JOHN    R.    ANDERSON,    PUBLISHER, 


LITTLE    NELL 


FROM 


THE    OLD    CURIOSITY-SHOP 


CHARLES    DICKENS 


ILLUSTRATED     BY      BARLEY. 


THE 


TWO    DAUGHTERS 


FROM 


THE  MARTIN  CHUZZLEWIT 


CHARLES    DICKENS. 


ILLUSTRATED      BY      HA  1C  LEY 


NEW    YORK: 
JOHN    R.    ANDERSON,    PUBLISHER 


DAME    BURDEN 

LITTLE    WOMAN 


FROM 


THE    BLEAK    HOUSE 


n 


CHARLES    DICKENS, 


ILLUSTRATED     BY     DA  It  LEY. 


NEW    YORK: 
JOHN    R.    ANDERSON,    PUBLISHER. 


THE 


CHILD-WIFE 


FKUM    THE 


DAVID     COPPERFIELD 


OF 


CHAKLES    DICKENS 


ILLUSTRATED     BY     DABLKY. 


NEW    YORK: 
JOIIN    R.    ANDERSON,    PUBLISHER. 


OLIVER 


AND 


THE    JEW     FAGIN 


FROM    THE 


OLIVER     TWIST 


OP 


CHARLES    DICKENS 


ILLUSTRATED     UY      DARLEY. 


NEW    YORK: 
JOHN    R.    ANDERSON,    PUBLISHER 


RETURN  C 
TO- 


4  DAY  USE 

.  TO  D.  >K  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

RENEWALS  ONLY— TEL.  NO.  642-3405 
This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


recafl  after 


*•«•'"»»  8 


- 

. 

1 


JPR8 


MTP     APR     1  198QPI 


APR  1  6  1981 


W2T1987 


*»«  MAY     6  1987  - 


LD21A-60n?-3,'70 
(N5382slO)476-A-32 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


